President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed a $95.3 billion foreign aid package that sends much-needed weapons to Ukraine and includes a ban on TikTok if its parent company does not divest itself of its Chinese ownership within a year.
‘This is a good day for America. “It’s a good day for Europe,” Biden said. ‘It’s going to make America safer. It’s going to make the world safer.’
The bill includes $60.8 billion for Ukraine; $26.4 billion for Israel and humanitarian aid for civilians in conflict zones, including Gaza; and $8.1 billion for the Indo-Pacific region, particularly Taiwan. It also includes sanctions against Iranian and Russian officials.
“I’m making sure that shipping begins immediately,” Biden said of aid to Ukraine. “In the next few hours, literally a few hours.”
President Joe Biden argued that the foreign aid bill will keep America safer
Its passage capped a tense and tense six months to get the bill into law. President Mike Johnson formed a bipartisan coalition to pass the legislation, as several members of his conservative wing opposed it.
Biden’s Republican rival for the presidency, Donald Trump, spoke out against the relief package, leading to a clash between Johnson and Trump’s loyal MAGA supporters at the Capitol.
In his remarks, Biden criticized ‘MAGA Republicans’ for blocking aid when Ukraine ran out of ammunition.
“At the end of the day, most of us, whether we’re Democrats, Republicans or independents, believe that America should stand up for what we believe is right,” he said.
‘We are not distancing ourselves from our allies. We are with them, we do not let the tyrants win, we oppose them. We don’t really see how global events unfold. We shape them. That is what it means to be the indispensable nation. “That’s what it means to be the world’s superpower and the world’s leading democracy.”
‘Some of our MAGA Republicans reject that vision, but this vote makes it clear: there is a bipartisan consensus for that kind of American leadership. “That’s exactly what we will continue to offer.”
House Democrats came to Johnson’s aid Saturday night to get the bill through to completion. The Senate approved it on Tuesday.
‘It was a difficult road. It should have been easier and it should have come faster, but in the end we do what America always does. “We rose to the moment, we came together and we got it done,” Biden said.
This is the first aid package to Ukraine in more than a year.
The administration is preparing a massive $1 billion military weapons package — including long-range missiles, munitions, drones and vehicles — to send to Ukraine now that Congress has approved the funding.
“Doing this is one of the Senate’s biggest accomplishments in years, maybe decades,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
‘Today the Senate sends a unified message to the entire world,’ he said. “America will always defend democracy in its hour of need.”
Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, who is trying to move the GOP away from its isolationist leanings, welcomed the bill’s passage and blamed anti-Ukraine sentiment on Tucker Carlson “who, in my opinion, ended up where it should have been all along.” that he is interviewing Vladimir Putin,” he said.
McConnell said Carlson’s “huge hearing” convinced “many rank-and-file Republicans” that helping Ukraine defend itself against Russia is not important.
The Senate measure would also force TikTok’s parent company, Chinese-owned ByteDance, to sell the social media site or face a ban.
TikTok has one year to separate Porcelain – or be banned in the US
But TikTok fans are watching with grave concern how the legislation could lead to the outlawing of their favorite video-sharing platform.
Package gives billions to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, and could potentially ban TikTok
TikTok has suggested that the legislation amounts to an “outright ban in the United States,” hinting that ByteDance is not interested in selling.
“It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian aid to once again stymie a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate 7 million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $24 billion to the US economy annually,” a TikTok spokesperson told DailyMail.com on Saturday.
Attaching the measure to foreign aid forced the Senate to vote on it after Schumer delayed introducing it.
The Israeli portion of the bill will offer $4 billion to replenish Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system and billions more for weapons, artillery and ammunition systems, as well as an additional $2.4 billion for U.S. operations in the region.
Nine billion dollars of that bill goes toward humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza.
“I will always make sure Israel has what it needs to defend itself against Iran,” Biden said.
He also highlighted aid to Gaza.
“Israel must ensure that all this aid reaches the Palestinians in Gaza without delay,” he said. “And everything we do is guided by the ultimate goal of bringing these hostages home and securing a ceasefire.”
Democrats remain divided over Biden’s strategy on Israel and support for Palestine, but a majority of the president’s party supported the legislation.
This photograph taken from Israel’s southern border with the Gaza Strip shows the destruction in the Palestinian territory.
The breakdown of what’s on the bill:
61 billion dollars for Ukraine
About $23 billion would be used to replenish U.S. weapons, arsenals and facilities, and more than $11 billion would fund current U.S. military operations in the region.
Nearly $14 billion included in the bill would help Ukraine purchase advanced weapons systems and other defense equipment.
The first tranche of aid – worth about $1 billion – is expected to arrive in kyiv within days.
26 billion dollars for Israel
The package would provide $26.4 billion to help Israel, including $4 billion for the Iron Dome and David’s Sling missile defense systems and $1.2 billion for the Iron Beam defense system.
It also includes $9.2 billion in humanitarian assistance (including emergency food, shelter and basic services) for populations in crisis.
$8 billion for the Indo-Pacific
The package includes $8.1 billion to counter China’s actions in the Indo-Pacific region.
It includes $3.3 billion to develop undersea infrastructure, $2 billion in foreign military financing for Taiwan and $1.9 billion to replenish defense items and services provided to Taiwan and its regional partners.
Possible TikTok ban
The legislation sets a nine-month deadline for the app’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the social media company.
If it misses the deadline, TikTok would be banned from US app stores.
Sanctions on Iran and Russia
The bill imposes sanctions on ports and refineries that receive and process Iranian oil.
It also restricts the export of US-origin goods and technology to Iran.