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US congressmen to vote on $17.6 bln aid for Israel without addressing funds to Ukraine

The US House of Representatives plans to vote on the bill next week, the chamber’s speaker Mike Johnson said

WASHINGTON, February 4. /TASS/. A group of US congressmen has presented a bill stipulating allocation of $17.6 bln for military aid to Israel without any accompanying additional assistance for Ukraine. The US House of Representatives plans to vote on the bill next week, the chamber’s speaker Mike Johnson (Republican, Louisiana) said.

According to the House Appropriations Committee, the $17.6 bln would include funds to help replenish Israel's missile defense systems, procure additional advanced weapons systems, and produce artillery and other munitions.

The document does not mention allocation of funds for Ukraine.

"Next week, we will take up and pass a clean, standalone Israel supplemental package," Johnson said in a letter to his House Republican colleagues.

Almost four months ago, the administration of US President Joe Biden sent a request to Capitol Hill for additional budgetary appropriations in the 2024 US fiscal year, which began on October 1. Biden’s priority, above all, is to provide aid to Israel and Ukraine, as well as to counteract China and Russia in the Asia-Pacific region. Overall, the Democrats, led by the Biden White House, would like to allocate a total combined aid package worth about $106 bln.

The future fates of the funding request and alternative bills remain unclear at this point. A number of Republicans in the House and Senate spoke out against further financial aid for Kiev. Johnson has consistently insisted on linking any further aid for Ukraine to funding for tougher controls at the US’ southern border with Mexico to stem the unprecedented wave of illegal immigrants entering the US. US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Republican-Kentucky) made similar remarks. The protracted debate on these contentious issues between the Democratic Party, which now controls the executive branch and the Senate, and the opposition Republican Party, which has a slim majority in the lower chamber House, continues.

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Ukraine crisis Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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