The US House of Representatives quickly approved this Saturday, April 20, a military aid plan for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, at the same time it voted for a bill that establishes the ban of the TikTok platform in the country if it does not cut ties with its headquarters in China.
The representatives began the debate on this $95 billion package following noon in Washington and in a very short time approved the three chapters referring to Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel, in that order.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the approval and said military and economic assistance would “save thousands and thousands of lives.”
In a message on Telegram, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zajarova, stressed that this triple aid package “will exacerbate global crises.”.
The project had managed to gather majority bipartisan support in recent days, following continuous back and forth.
The texts must now be examined by the Senate, which might quickly consider the initiatives in session this Tuesday, said the leader of the Democrats in that chamber, Chuck Schumer.
In a statement, US President Joe Biden praised the representatives of both parties who “at this critical turning point, they came together to answer the call of history.”
“This package will provide crucial support to Israel and Ukraine; provide desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza, Sudan, Haiti and elsewhere (…) and strengthen security and stability in the Indo-Pacific,” Biden said.
Before that plan, the House began by approving the discussed initiative on TikTok’s activity in the United States, which had already generated an angry reaction from Beijing.
United States: main support of kyiv
The defense assistance initiative was presented last Wednesday and is the result of months of vehement negotiations and constant pressure exerted on Washington by Zelensky, as well as allies around the world.
Financing the war in Ukraine was one of the key elements of the initiative because the United States is kyiv’s main military backer.
Despite the insistence of Biden and the Democrats, Congress had not approved an important package for almost a year and a half for that Eastern European ally, which is fighting once morest the invasion launched by Moscow in February 2022.
The Republicans, led by former President Donald Trump (2017-2021), were continually reluctant to finance a conflict that was becoming more complicated and also conditioned the package on a stricter immigration policy.
In the middle of an election year, the issue became a long-distance duel between Biden, who aspires to re-election in the November elections, and Trump, his main rival with the intention of returning to command the White House.
– “Bullets, not boys” –
After months of resistance, House Republican leader Mike Johnson finally gave his approval to a $61 billion package for Ukraine. “To put it bluntly: I’d rather send bullets to Ukraine than American guys,” he had said at a press conference.
This aid plan – basically military and economic – also authorizes President Biden to confiscate and sell Russian assets, so that they can be used to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine. An idea that is gaining followers in other G7 countries.
– Taiwan, Gaza and TikTok –
The first approved chapter of the defense assistance plan was the one for Taiwan, in order to counteract China’s potential threats once morest that Asian territory. The self-governing island is considered by Beijing to be a rebellious province that is part of its territory and therefore threatens to reincorporate it one day, even by force.
This branch of the project promoted by the Biden administration provides an endowment of around $8 billion for the Taiwanese to invest in submarines and other defensive means.
The sweeping plan also includes $13 billion in military aid to Israel, a historic U.S. ally waging war once morest the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The funds will go in particular to strengthening Israel’s anti-missile shield, the “Iron Dome.”
More than $9 billion is also earmarked to “meet the urgent need for humanitarian aid in Gaza and other vulnerable populations around the world,” according to a summary of the text.
On the other hand, the House approved a condition and eventual ban on TikTok in the United States.
The project establishes that the social platform must cut ties with its Chinese parent company ByteDance if it wants to continue operating in the United States.
TikTok spoke out following the vote, pointing out that the ban would “violate the freedom of expression” of 170 million American users.
Washington accuses the video platform of allowing Beijing to use and manipulate the data of those who use it in the United States.
– Republican leader under threat –
President Biden had already warned parliamentarians that “the world is watching what Congress does,” as a way to pressure for the expected approval.
Biden has pledged to sign the law as soon as it has been approved by both houses of Congress.
The adoption of this package gives breathing room to US allies, but might cost Republican leader Mike Johnson his job.
A handful of legislators linked to the most conservative wing and supporters of isolationism have promised to do everything possible to remove the speaker of the House for having supported said bill.
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