As early as this Friday, the US Congress can start collecting signatures to put the bill on aid to Ukraine to a vote in the House of Representatives of the US Congress, bypassing Speaker Mike Johnson. The process will begin if Johnson himself does not bring the bill to consideration by that time.
This was stated by Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick during a press briefing in the Capitol, Voice of America reports.
"This is an attempt to apply pressure to force something to be brought to the voting hall. If the House of Representatives cannot reach a consensus on the draft law, the alternative cannot be that Ukraine will be defeated and our border will remain open. We canʼt let that happen," Fitzpatrick noted.
Fitzpatrick said he is working with Johnsonʼs office to bring the Ukraine aid package to the House of Representatives. But if the speaker refuses to comply, they will begin collecting signatures for a petition to vote by-pass the speaker. The congressman added that he is confident that the petition will be able to get the 218 signatures needed for approval.
What about American aid to Ukraine
US military aid to Ukraine was exhausted at the end of 2023. Last year in October, Joe Biden submitted a request to Congress for the allocation of $106 billion, of which more than $61 billion is intended for Ukraine, mostly for the purchase of weapons from the United States. The rest of the funds from the package were intended for Israel, aid to the Asia-Pacific region, humanitarian activities in the Gaza Strip, etc.
However, the request was not approved due to political disputes. Then representatives of the Congress and the White House began to work on the text of the bill, which, in particular, was supposed to contain the demand of the Republicans to strengthen the security of the US borders to stop migration from Mexico. Already on February 7, he did not get the necessary 60 votes in the Senate.
Subsequently, an alternative draft law appeared on the $95.34 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, of which $61 billion is for Ukraine. The US Senate voted for him on February 13. Both houses of the US Congress (Senate and House of Representatives) must approve the legislation before President Joe Biden can sign it. However, the US House of Representatives adjourned without voting for aid to Ukraine.
CNN wrote that the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the US Congress, Mike Johnson, rejects the bill approved by the Senate on February 13, but allows a vote on "a new proposal that appeared in the House of Representatives." Johnson has not yet taken a position on the new plan and has not committed to bringing it to a vote.