Biden Signs $40 Billion Ukraine Aid Bill

The legislation passed the Senate on Thursday in a vote of 86-11, with only Republicans voting no

President signed the $40 Billion Ukraine Aid Bill Saturday morning. He signed the measure under unusual circumstances. Because he’s in the middle of a trip to Asia, a U.S. official brought a copy of the bill on a commercial flight to Seoul for the president to sign, according to a White House official.

On Thursday, the Senate passed the package for Ukraine, the majority of which will go towards military assistance. The legislation now moves to the desk of President Biden, who is expected to quickly sign it into law.

The massive package passed in a vote of 86-11, with only Republicans voting against the bill. The aid was delayed in the Senate last week after Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) blocked a vote. Paul wanted to change the text of the bill to include a new inspector general for oversight of the aid, but the legislation wasn’t altered.

Paul voted against the bill on Thursday, along with Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Boozman (R-AR), Mike Braun (R-IN), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Mike Lee (R-UT), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL).

The aid package passed through the House on May 10 in a vote of 368-57, again with only Republicans voting nay as Democrats are in lockstep in their support of the Biden administration’s policy of flooding Ukraine with weapons, which risks provoking Moscow.

The $40 billion will bring total US aid for Ukraine to a whopping $54 billion for 2022 alone. For perspective, Russia’s entire military budget for 2021 was estimated to be about $65.9 billion.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.