House passes contentious Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan aid package

The House on Saturday passed military aid bills for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, more than six months after President Joe Biden initially submitted his massive foreign aid request to arm all three security partners.

The roughly $95 billion package includes $48 billion in Ukraine security aid, which passed 311-112 as some Democrats cheered and chanted “Slava Ukraini” while waving Ukrainian flags – prompting Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., to tell them to “put those damn flags away.” The exchange prompted Rep. Marc Molinaro, R-N.Y., to chide both the flag-wavers and Luna for violating House decorum.

The package includes another $14 billion in Israel military assistance – passed 366-58 – and $4 billion in weapons funding for Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific allies – passed 385-34. It also includes economic and humanitarian aid as well as a fourth bill – passed 360-58 – that contains Iran sanctions, Russian asset seizures to rebuild Ukraine and a provision that could potentially result in a ban on the popular social media app TikTok.

“China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are working together in a new axis of evil to harm our alliances and undermine our national security,” House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said on the floor ahead of the vote, invoking former President George W. Bush’s 2002 reference to Iran, Iraq and North Korea.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also labeled China, Russia and Iran as an “axis of evil” earlier this week after reversing course on Ukraine aid.

“We’re in dangerous times,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday after deciding to advance the whole package. “I regard myself as a wartime speaker, in a literal sense.”

Johnson – who voted against previous aid packages for Kyiv – had resisted holding a Ukraine vote for months. He failed to pass a stand-alone Israel aid bill in February after the White House threatened to veto it given the lack of support for Kyiv. The speaker reversed course following Iran’s missile and drone attack on Israel last week.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told senators to remain in town through the next several days to consider the package.

The Senate already passed similar legislation 70-29 in February. But increased Republican resistance to Ukraine aid from former President Donald Trump and others, as well as growing skepticism to unconditional Israel assistance from some Democrats , prompted Johnson to split the package up into multiple votes.

Nonetheless, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., have threatened to force a vote ousting Johnson from the speakership over the Ukraine aid bill when the House returns from recess later this month.

A band of right-wing Republicans successfully ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif ., with a similar move last year, plunging the House into weeks of chaos as the party struggled to select a new leader. But some Democrats have said they would be willing to help save Johnson’s speakership following his decision to advance Ukraine aid.

The White House has said Biden will ultimately sign the House package, stating “This funding would ensure that critically needed U.S. weapons and equipment continue to follow to the battlefield as the Ukrainian people defend their sovereignty against Russian aggression, while continuing to strengthen and modernize our defense industrial base here at home.”

Ukraine has received a cumulative $113 billion in economic and security aid since Russia’s 2022 invasion, while Israel receives an annual $3.8 billion in military assistance and the fiscal 2024 government funding bill provided Taiwan with $300 million in Foreign Military Financing .

The House voted down several amendments that would have curtailed or outright abolished Ukraine aid funding, including from Greene as well as Reps. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., and Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., a Ukrainian-American lawmaker.

At the same time, the House by voice vote passed a symbolic amendment from Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., encouraging the State Department to allocate $500 million in Foreign Military Financing to the Philippines. The Taiwan aid bill provides a total of $2 billion in Foreign Military Financing for Indo-Pacific allies and partners.

The House passed another amendment from Rep. Carlos Giménez, R-Fla., by voice vote requiring the Pentagon’s annual China military power report to assess Beijing’s investments in emerging technology.

The package also includes $3.3 billion in submarine industrial base funding as the Columbia and Virginia class programs remain behind schedule . Additionally, it provides $2.4 billion for U.S. Central Command to support its operations in the Middle East and another $542 million for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

Although the House’s aid package is similar to the Senate’s previous bill, it makes some minor adjustments. For instance, it adds a provision directing Biden to transfer long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems to Ukraine – a longstanding request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

CIA Director Bill Burns said Thursday that Ukraine could likely hold its ground if Congress passes another aid package for Kyiv but warned “the picture is a lot more dire” without one.

“There is a very real risk that the Ukrainians could lose on the battlefield by the end of 2024, or at least put [Russian President Vladimir] Putin in a position where he could essentially dictate the terms of a political settlement,” said Burns.

Bryant Harris is the Congress reporter for Defense News. He has covered U.S. foreign policy, national security, international affairs and politics in Washington since 2014. He has also written for Foreign Policy, Al-Monitor, Al Jazeera English and IPS News.

周六，众议院通过了对乌克兰、以色列和台湾的军事援助法案。此前六个多月，乔·拜登总统首次提交了大规模对外援助请求，旨在武装这三个安全伙伴。

这项总额约950亿美元的援助方案包括480亿美元的乌克兰安全援助，以311票赞成、112票反对获得通过。一些民主党议员挥舞着乌克兰国旗，高呼“荣耀归于乌克兰”，并为此欢呼雀跃。佛罗里达州共和党众议员安娜·保利娜·卢娜随即斥责他们“把那些该死的国旗收起来”。这一举动也引发了纽约州共和党众议员马克·莫利纳罗的批评，他指责挥舞国旗的议员和卢娜违反了众议院的议事规则。

该方案包括向以色列提供140亿美元的军事援助（以366票赞成、58票反对获得通过），以及向台湾和其他印太盟友提供40亿美元的武器援助（以385票赞成、34票反对获得通过）。此外，该方案还包括经济和人道主义援助，以及第四项法案（以360票赞成、58票反对获得通过），该法案包含对伊朗的制裁、为重建乌克兰而扣押俄罗斯资产，以及一项可能导致禁用热门社交媒体应用TikTok的条款。

“中国、俄罗斯、伊朗和朝鲜正在组成一个新的邪恶轴心，共同破坏我们的联盟，损害我们的国家安全，”众议院军事委员会主席、阿拉巴马州共和党众议员迈克·罗杰斯在投票前在众议院发言时说道，他援引了前总统乔治·W·布什在2002年对伊朗、伊拉克和朝鲜的言论。

本周早些时候，众议院议长、路易斯安那州共和党人迈克·约翰逊在改变对乌克兰援助的立场后，也将中国、俄罗斯和伊朗称为“邪恶轴心”。

约翰逊周二在决定推进整套方案后告诉记者：“我们正处于危险时期。从字面上讲，我把自己视为一名战时演说家。”

约翰逊曾投票反对此前对基辅的援助方案，并数月来一直拒绝就乌克兰问题进行投票。今年2月，由于缺乏对基辅的支持，白宫威胁要否决一项单独的以色列援助法案，约翰逊因此未能通过该法案。但在上周伊朗对以色列发动导弹和无人机袭击后，这位议长改变了立场。

参议院多数党领袖查克·舒默（纽约州）告诉参议员们，在接下来的几天里留在华盛顿，审议该方案。

参议院已于二月份以 70 比 29 的投票结果通过了类似的法案。但由于前总统唐纳德·特朗普等人对乌克兰援助的共和党反对情绪日益高涨，以及一些民主党人对无条件援助以色列的质疑声越来越大，约翰逊决定将该方案拆分成多个投票进行表决。

尽管如此，佐治亚州共和党众议员玛乔丽·泰勒·格林、肯塔基州共和党众议员托马斯·马西和亚利桑那州共和党众议员保罗·戈萨尔威胁说，众议院本月晚些时候休会结束后，他们将就乌克兰援助法案举行投票，迫使约翰逊辞去议长职务。

去年，一群右翼共和党人以类似的手段成功罢免了前众议院议长、加州共和党人凯文·麦卡锡，导致众议院陷入数周混乱，共和党不得不艰难地选出新的领导人。但一些民主党人表示，在约翰逊决定推进对乌克兰的援助后，他们愿意帮助他保住议长职位。

白宫表示，拜登最终将签署众议院的拨款方案，并声明“这项拨款将确保乌克兰人民在捍卫主权、抵御俄罗斯侵略时，能够继续获得美国急需的武器装备，同时继续加强和现代化我们国内的国防工业基础。”

自俄罗斯 2022 年入侵以来，乌克兰累计获得了 1130 亿美元的经济和安全援助，而以色列每年获得 38 亿美元的军事援助，2024 财年政府拨款法案为台湾提供了 3 亿美元的对外军事融资。

众议院否决了多项旨在削减或彻底取消对乌克兰援助资金的修正案，其中包括格林议员以及佛罗里达州共和党众议员凯特·卡马克和印第安纳州共和党众议员维多利亚·斯帕茨（乌克兰裔美国议员）提出的修正案。

与此同时，众议院以口头表决的方式通过了加州共和党众议员达雷尔·伊萨提出的象征性修正案，敦促国务院向菲律宾拨款5亿美元对外军事援助。台湾援助法案共为印太地区的盟友和伙伴提供了20亿美元的对外军事援助。

众议院以口头表决的方式通过了佛罗里达州共和党众议员卡洛斯·吉梅内斯提出的另一项修正案，要求五角大楼的年度中国军事实力报告评估北京在新兴技术领域的投资。

该方案还包括33亿美元的潜艇工业基地建设资金，因为哥伦比亚级和弗吉尼亚级潜艇项目进度仍然落后于计划。此外，方案还为美国中央司令部提供24亿美元，用于支持其在中东的行动，并为美国印太司令部提供5.42亿美元。

尽管众议院的援助方案与参议院之前的法案类似，但仍有一些细微的调整。例如，它增加了一项条款，指示拜登向乌克兰转让远程陆军战术导弹系统——这是乌克兰总统泽连斯基长期以来的要求。

中央情报局局长比尔·伯恩斯周四表示，如果国会通过另一项对基辅的援助方案，乌克兰很可能能够守住阵地，但他警告说，如果没有援助，“情况会更加糟糕”。

伯恩斯说：“乌克兰人很有可能在 2024 年底前在战场上战败，或者至少让普京总统处于一种可以实质上左右政治解决条款的境地。”

布莱恩特·哈里斯是《防务新闻》的国会记者。自2014年以来，他一直在华盛顿报道美国外交政策、国家安全、国际事务和政治。他还曾为《外交政策》、《Al-Monitor》、《半岛电视台英语频道》和IPS新闻撰稿。