In the annual defense budget bill, House Democrats and Republicans joined forces to defeat two amendments that would have eliminated funding for Ukraine, even though each vote revealed significant GOP opposition to maintaining support for Kyiv.
Annual Defense Budget Bill: The Amendment Votes On Wednesday Serve As A Gauge Of Republican Attitudes On Continued Support For Kyiv As The Battle With Russia Grinds On
According to Politico, with money for Ukraine becoming a major sticking point in Capitol Hill negotiations to avoid a government shutdown, the amendment votes on Wednesday serve as a gauge of Republican attitudes on continued support for Kyiv as the battle with Russia grinds on.
Rep. Andy Biggs’ (R-Ariz.) amendment to remove $300 million from the Annual Defense Budget Bill for the Pentagon to train the Ukrainian military and buy weapons for Kyiv was rejected by lawmakers 104-330. Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL) second amendment, which would have prohibited security assistance to Ukraine, was defeated by a margin of 93-339.
Only a few days before a potential shutdown, financing for the Ukraine has turned into a political football. Although both votes demonstrate political support for aiding in the defense against Russia’s invasion, almost half of House Republicans voted in favor of taking the funding away. The fact that the bipartisan Senate funding patch includes $6 billion in emergency money for Ukraine is one of the reasons Speaker Kevin McCarthy deemed it a non-starter. McCarthy is still negotiating a GOP-only temporary in the House, but it probably won’t include that money.
Conservatives contend that U.S. assistance is not sufficiently scrutinized, is unaffordable given the rising national debt, and would be better used to secure the border with Mexico. However, many lawmakers on McCarthy’s right flank oppose continued aid to Ukraine.
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Annual Defense Budget Bill
According to DNYUX, the Annual Defense Budget Bill, according to Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), chairmen of the House committee that manages a large portion of the Pentagon budget. He added that money from the Pentagon doesn’t actually travel to Ukraine. Instead, the funds are used for training and to sign agreements with American defense companies to supply Kyiv with weapons.
McCarthy intended to take out the $300 million in Ukraine money to oust Greene and other opponents of the Pentagon bill after two unsuccessful votes last week to approve the entire bill. In the end, he changed his mind, and Republicans prevailed in a procedural vote on Tuesday with just Greene siding with them.
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