WASHINGTON – The United States Congress passed a huge omnibus 2022 spending bill yesterday including almost US$14 billion (RM58.7 billion) in humanitarian and military aid to war-torn Ukraine, as its invasion by Russia entered its third week.
Lawmakers had been facing the latest in a series of shutdown showdowns, with government funding due to expire at midnight today, meaning thousands of workers would have been sent home without pay.
With the deadline fast approaching, senators in the legislative body’s upper chamber followed their House of Representatives colleagues, who green-lit the US$1.5 trillion package on Wednesday.
“We’re keeping our promise to support Ukraine as they fight for their lives against the evil Vladimir Putin,” Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Senate Democrats, said in a statement.
“With nearly US$14 billion in emergency aid, Congress will approve more than double what the administration originally requested.”
Government funding regularly becomes a contentious issue in the US, as the rival Democrats and Republicans play out a high-stakes staring contest over their competing priorities for the coming financial year.
On three previous occasions during President Joe Biden’s tenure, lawmakers have delayed passing a full fiscal year spending plan in favour of extending Trump-era policies.
But on this occasion, Russia’s war against its Western-backed neighbour gave the process a new impetus and the final outcome was a comfortable 68-31 vote in favour of the budget.
The Pentagon has never run on a year-long stopgap, and military brass had warned repeatedly that this would be a huge problem for them considering the bloodshed in Ukraine.
A significant number of Senate Republicans had sought to slow down the process, arguing that Ukraine aid should be divorced from the larger funding package.
Others argued that they needed more time to assess the sweeping, 2,700-page funding deal, which impacts every facet of the federal government.
The blueprint provides more than US$780 billion in defence funding – an increase of 5.6% over last year – and US$730 billion in non-defence cash, a 6.7% hike. – AFP, March 11, 2022
