Lawmakers present Zelensky with vote totals for more Ukraine aid

The Hill

The additional funds for Ukraine passed in the House with 74% of lawmakers voting in favor of the effort, after which the Senate approved the legislation with 81% voting in favor.

Lawmakers passed $61 billion in funds for Ukraine, as well as $26 billion for Israel and $8 billion for the Indo-Pacific, with a recent aid package that received criticism from conservatives for not addressing the border crisis. File Image.

Members of Congress who traveled to Ukraine as part of an official delegation touted the $60 billion of additional aid approved over the weekend for the war-torn nation.

Lawmakers passed roughly $61 billion in funds for Ukraine, as well as $26 billion for Israel and $8 billion for the Indo-Pacific, with a recent aid package that received criticism from some conservatives for neglecting to address the southern border crisis. Representative Bill Keating, a Democrat from Massachusetts and a member of the delegation, presented an elated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday with a copy of the vote totals.

Today in Kyiv I handed President @ZelenskyyUa a copy of the vote totals from Saturday's affirmation of U.S. support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. pic.twitter.com/jjo2dtPeXt
— Congressman Bill Keating (@USRepKeating) April 22, 2024

Keating told Ukrainian officials that his own uncle lost his life in World War II and contended that the aid package would honor the legacy of other veterans from the conflict. “As stewards to all those people, we’re here to make sure that you win,” he commented. “And you will.”

The additional funds for Ukraine passed in the House with 74% of lawmakers voting in favor of the effort, after which the Senate approved the legislation with 81% voting in favor. President Joe Biden commended the votes in a statement and vowed to “sign this bill into law.”

“Congress has passed my legislation to strengthen our national security and send a message to the world about the power of American leadership: we stand resolutely for democracy and freedom, and against tyranny and oppression,” Biden commented. “This critical legislation will make our nation and world more secure as we support our friends who are defending themselves against terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin.”

Zelensky likewise thanked Republican and Democratic leadership in a statement for overwhelmingly supporting the aid package, saying the effort “reinforces America’s role as a beacon of democracy and the leader of the free world.”

Before the most recent aid package, federal agencies had supported Ukraine with more than $113 billion in military and humanitarian funds since Russian forces invaded the country, according to an analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Another analysis from the Council of Foreign Relations found that the United States has provided more assistance to Ukraine than any other nation except for European Union institutions.