After long and difficult negotiations, the American House of Representatives adopted, on Saturday April 20, a huge aid plan for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, supported by elected officials from both sides. American parliamentarians voted in lockstep on this gigantic envelope of more than 95 billion dollars (89 billion euros), demanded for months by President Joe Biden.
$60.8 billion in aid to Ukraine
The text on Ukraine provides 60.8 billion (57 billion euros) to help kyiv against Russia.
In the hemicycle, parliamentarians waved Ukrainian flags as a sign of support for kyiv, to the boos of Trumpist elected officials. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose country is at war with Russia, immediately welcomed assistance that “will save thousands and thousands of lives.”
Such aid would allow the Ukrainian army to catch its breath in this high-intensity conflict which has exhausted many of its fighters and damaged the morale of the troops.
On Friday, the Ukrainian president sounded the alarm to NATO member countries during a videoconference speech. The Ukrainian army “cannot wait any longer” in the face of Russian pressure, he declared, demanding in particular at least seven additional Patriot anti-aircraft systems, as well as the acceleration of deliveries of military equipment of all kinds.
The United States is kyiv’s main military supporter, but Congress has not passed a major package for its ally in nearly a year and a half, mainly due to partisan wrangling. This aid was distributed during 2023, but the taps are now dry.
The text presented on Wednesday provides nearly 14 billion dollars to train, equip and pay the Ukrainian army.
Around $10 billion in economic assistance dedicated to the energy and infrastructure sectors will be sent in the form of a loan.
The idea was suggested by Donald Trump, who believes that the United States should “stop giving money without expecting to be reimbursed.” This debt may, however, be erased.
A large part of the envelope will also be used to replenish the stocks of the American army and will return to arms factories in the United States.
This aid plan also authorizes President Biden to confiscate and sell Russian assets so that they can be used to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Democratic President Joe Biden and his party in Congress are very supportive of new aid for Ukraine, at war with Russia. But the Republicans, led by Donald Trump, are increasingly reluctant to finance a conflict that is getting bogged down. In the middle of an election year, the issue turned into a remote duel between the two presidential candidates.
After months of procrastination, the Republican leader of the House, Mike Johnson, ended up supporting the $61 billion package for Ukraine. “To put it bluntly: I would rather send munitions to Ukraine than send our boys to fight,” he pleaded, not without some emotion, during a press conference.
$13 billion in military assistance to Israel
The plan debated in Congress provides for $13 billion in military assistance to Israel, a historic ally of the United States, at war with Hamas.
These funds will be used in particular to strengthen the Israeli anti-missile shield, the “Iron Dome”.
More than $9 billion is also planned to “respond to the urgent need for humanitarian aid in Gaza and other vulnerable populations around the world,” according to a summary of the text.
The project, however, prohibits any direct funding from the United States to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. Israel accuses some of its employees of involvement in the October 7 attack carried out by Hamas.
More than nine billion dollars are also planned to “respond to the urgent need for humanitarian aid in Gaza and other vulnerable populations around the world,” according to a summary of the text.
$8 billion to stand up to China
As Joe Biden had demanded, this text devotes more than 8 billion dollars to stand up to China on the military level by investing in submarines, and on the economic level by competing with major Chinese projects in developing countries. development.
Several billion dollars are allocated to Taiwan, an island of 23 million inhabitants that China considers one of its provinces.
Threat of banning TikTok
The bill also provides for the ban on TikTok in the United States if the social network does not cut ties with its parent company ByteDance, and more broadly with China.
TikTok has been in the crosshairs of American authorities for several months, with many officials believing that the short and entertaining video platform allows Beijing to spy on and manipulate its 170 million users in the United States.
All of these projects must return to the Senate next week before potentially being signed into law by President Joe Biden. The upper house could consider the texts as early as Tuesday, said the leader of the Democrats in the Senate, Chuck Schumer. The president’s spokesperson, Karine Jean-Pierre, said Friday that the flow of American aid to Ukraine would resume “immediately” after the adoption of this text by both houses of Congress.
