US House passes Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan aid package

Senate set to vote on 129.3 billion funding Bill with final passage expected this week

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The US House of Representatives on April 20 passed with broad bipartisan support a US$95 billion (S$129.3 billion) legislative package providing security assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, over bitter objections from Republican hardliners.

The legislation now proceeds to the Democratic-majority Senate, which passed a similar measure more than two months ago.

US leaders, from Democratic President Joe Biden to top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell, had been urging embattled Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring it up for a vote.

The Senate is set to begin considering the House-passed Bill on April 23, with some preliminary votes that afternoon. Final passage is expected some time this week, which would clear the way for Mr Biden to sign it into law.

The Bills provide US$60.84 billion to address the conflict in Ukraine, including US$23 billion to replenish US weapons, stocks and facilities; US$26 billion for Israel, including US$9.1 billion for humanitarian needs, and US$8.12 billion for the Indo-Pacific, including Taiwan.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his thanks, saying US lawmakers had moved to keep "history on the right track".