Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul opposed leaders of the two parties on Thursday and postponed an additional $ 40 billion in Senate approval until next week to help Ukraine and its allies resist a three-month invasion of Russia.
As the Senate was ready to discuss and vote on the military and economic aid package, Paul denied the leaders the unanimous consent they needed to continue. The bipartisan measure, backed by President Joe Biden, underscores the United States’ determination to step up its support for Ukraine’s superior forces.
The law was approved by an overwhelming majority of the House of Representatives and has strong bipartisan support in the Senate. The final passage is beyond doubt.
However, Paul’s objection was a departure from the prevailing mood in Congress in favor of rapid assistance to Ukraine as it struggled to withstand Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion and tried to dissuade him from escalating the war.
It was also a revolt against his fellow Kentucky Republican, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who on Thursday called on “both sides” to “help us pass this urgent funding bill today.”
Paul, a libertarian who often opposes US intervention abroad, said he wanted to insert language into the bill without a vote, prompting the inspector general to scrutinize new spending. It has a long history of demanding last-minute changes, delaying or threatening to postpone bills on the brink of transition, including lynching measures, sanctioning Russia, preventing a federal shutdown, a defense budget, government oversight and health care care for the 9/11 attacks, which are the first to respond.
Democrats and McConnell resisted Paul’s pressure and offered to vote for his language. Paul will probably lose this vote and reject the offer.
Paul, who unsuccessfully asked for his party’s nomination for president in 2016, says the added costs are more than US spending on many domestic programs, comparable to Russia’s entire defense budget, and will deepen federal deficits and worsen inflation. . Last year’s budget deficit was nearly $ 2.8 trillion, but is likely to go down, and the bill costs less than 0.2 percent of the US economy, suggesting its impact on inflation will be negligible.
“No matter how sympathetic the cause is, my oath is for the national security of the United States,” Paul said. “We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the US economy.
Democrats have said they oppose Paul’s plan, as it will extend the powers of an existing inspector general whose current competence is limited to Afghanistan. That would deprive Mr Biden of a chance for previous presidents to make an appointment, they said.
“Kentucky’s remarks make it clear from a junior senator that he doesn’t want to help Ukraine,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat. “All he will achieve with his actions here today is to postpone this aid, not to stop it.”
Schumer and McConnell stood almost side by side as they tried to push the law forward.
“They only want the resources they need to protect themselves from this insane invasion,” McConnell told Ukrainians. “And they need that help right now.”
On Tuesday, the Chamber voted 368-57 to approve the measure. All Democrats and most Republicans backed him, although every “no” vote came from the Republican Party.
The bipartisan support for Ukraine is partly due to stories of Russian atrocities against Ukrainian civilians that were impossible to ignore. He also voiced strategic concerns about allowing Putin to take over European territory without a response, as his attack on his western neighbor comes in its 12th week.
“Helping Ukraine is not just an example of philanthropy,” McConnell said. “The fact that Russia’s naked aggression is not successful has a direct impact on America’s national security and vital interests and carries significant costs.
Biden officials say they expect the latest aid measure to last until September. But with Ukraine suffering heavy military and civilian casualties and no idea when the fighting could end, Congress will eventually be faced with deciding how much more to provide at a time of huge US budget deficits and the risk of a recession that could to require additional costs at home.
The latest bill, added to $ 13.6 billion approved by Congress in March, will push US aid to the region more than $ 50 billion. In the long run, that would be a total of $ 6 billion more than the United States spent on military and economic aid worldwide in 2019, according to Congress’s nonpartisan research service.
The pressure to move came as Russia continued to blow up Ukrainian forces and cities in the south and east of the country. Addressing international concerns over the attack, Finnish leaders announced their support for joining NATO, and Sweden did not look far behind.
Mr Biden asked Congress for $ 33 billion two weeks ago. It didn’t take long for lawmakers to add $ 3.4 billion to his demands for both military and humanitarian programs.
The measure includes $ 6 billion for Ukraine’s intelligence, equipment and training, plus $ 4 billion in funding to help Kyiv and NATO allies build their military.
The Pentagon has $ 8.7 billion to replenish the stockpile of weapons it has sent to Ukraine and $ 3.9 billion to US troops in the region.
The measure also includes $ 8.8 billion to sustain the government in Kyiv, more than $ 5 billion to provide food to countries around the world that rely on Ukraine’s war-ravaged harvests, and $ 900 million to teach English and English. providing other services to Ukrainian refugees who have moved to the United States.
The biggest hurdle to quick approval of the aid was removed this week when Biden and Democrats rejected a request to include billions more in a measure to boost US efforts to counter the coronavirus pandemic. Republicans want separate legislation for COVID-19 to be a battleground during the election season for immigration that divides Democrats.
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