[ad_1]
WASHINGTON: US Senate leaders vowed on Thursday (Dec 7) to keep trying to reach an agreement to provide billions of dollars in new security aid to Ukraine but faced uncertainty about doing so quickly after Republicans blocked a sweeping foreign security assistance bill.
Senate Republicans voted unanimously on Wednesday to block the emergency spending bill to provide US$110.5 billion in funds for Ukraine, Israel and other security needs, to press their demands for more control of immigration via the US border with Mexico.
The result, which had been expected, threatened Democratic President Joe Biden’s effort to provide new aid before the end of 2023. It came after Democrats and Republicans had negotiated for weeks to add immigration policy changes to the security bill to win enough Republican votes to pass.
Those talks broke off last Friday, and emotions ran so high that a classified Senate briefing on Ukraine on Tuesday erupted into a shouting match from which several Republicans stormed out.
“We are left with only two paths forward to break the logjam. Either Republicans can take us up on an amendment offer or we can restart negotiations,” the Senate’s Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, said as he opened the chamber on Thursday.
By mid-November, the US Defence Department had used 97 per cent of US$62.3 billion in supplemental funding it had received for Ukraine and the State Department had used all of the US$4.7 billion in military assistance funding it had been allocated to help Kyiv as it battles Russian invaders, US budget director Shalanda Young said this week.
If Congress does not provide new funds to buy replacement equipment, the US, Ukraine and arms makers may have to take other steps to backfill stocks.
[ad_2]
Source link