The U.S. Senate passed the National Security Supplemental Measure by 79-18 votes on Tuesday night, after voting 80-19 in the afternoon to cloture. The measure will now be sent to Joe Biden for his signature.
Senate aligns with House. Approves combo foreign aid/TikTok bill, 79-18
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) April 24, 2024
The House passed the measure on Saturday with a 311-to-1 vote.
The package passed the House with little difficulty and was almost guaranteed to pass the Senate. This is a list of the contents.
The Senate passed an emergency foreign aid package of $95 billion on Tuesday, ending months’ bitter fights over $61 billion to fund the war in Ukraine which had divided the Republican Party.
The package includes $15 billion of military aid to Israel and $9 billion for humanitarian aid to Gaza and other war-torn areas. This became a flashpoint for conservative Republicans who claimed that it did not have enough safeguards in place to prevent it from going directly to Hamas.
The United States provides security assistance worth $8 billion to deter Chinese aggression throughout the Indo-Pacific.
It also includes language that would force the Chinese owner of TikTok, which is used by over 140 million Americans to divest themselves from the app. Otherwise, they could face a US ban.
The package includes $47.7 Billion for the Defense Department, which would be used to supply training, equipment, and weapons to Ukraine’s army, along with $13.4 Billion to replenish U.S. military equipment in Ukraine, and $20.5 Billion to support the U.S. Armed Forces in Europe.
The package also includes $ 9.5 billion in economic assistance to Ukraine, structured as forgivable loans. This idea was conceived by former President Trump when the Senate approved a previous version $ 95 billion assistance package in February.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DNY) has celebrated the passage of the bill.
Schumer: Finally Finally. Finally tonight, after more than six months of hard work and many twists and turns in the road, America sends a message to the entire world. We will not turn our back on you. Tonight, we, our allies, we stand with you. We tell our adversaries don’t mess…
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) April 24, 2024
Mitch McConnell, the Minority Leader (R-KY), also claimed that it was a win.
McConnell: History will record that even as allies and partners may have worried about the depth of our resolve. Even as Moscow, Beijing and Tehran grew more convinced that our influence had run its course and, even as loud voices here at home insisted on abandoning the…
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) April 24, 2024
Not all Republican Senators supported the measure. Ted Cruz, R-TX, was among the naysayers. He told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Tuesday night that his vote had been a tough call as he agreed with some aspects of this package. This included aid to Israel. He could not support the package because it gave money to NGOs that traffic illegal immigrants, and did nothing to secure our southern border.
The other nays are listed below:
Nays on foreign aid bill:
Barasso
Blackburn
Braun
Budd
Cruz
Hagerty
Hawley
Johnson
Lee
Lummis
Marshall
Merkley
Rubio
Sanders
Schmitt
Scott FL
Vance
Welch— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) April 24, 2024
