US House passes sweeping government funding bill with $13.6 billion in Ukraine aid

The US House of Representative has voted to pass a massive government funding bill that includes $13.6 billion in emergency aid for Ukraine following Russia’s military operation there.

The sweeping $1.5 trillion omnibus spending package was passed on Wednesday night hours after lawmakers scrapped billions in funding to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had earlier announced that she would remove a $15.6 billion COVID-19 aid provision from the omnibus spending bill in a bid to allocate the money to provide emergency aid for Ukraine.

The new bill received bipartisan support and passed 361-69. The House approved the non-defense portion of the package 260-171, with one member voting present.

Of the $13.6 billion in aid for Ukraine, $6.5 billion will be allocated for military assistance, setting aside $3.5 billion to help arm Ukrainians and allied forces in the region with US military stocks, and another $3 billion to support the deployment of more US troops and materials to Europe.

The price tag of the package has ballooned from $6.4 billion, the initial request from the White House. However, Pelosi indicated that the $13.6 billion is likely to be just the tip of a much broader aid effort.

Lawmakers in both parties have been willing to help arm the Ukrainian military, and that appetite only grew after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Congress members last weekend and pleaded for additional jets and weapons.