The Speaker of the House of Representatives of the US Congress Mike Johnson and the heads of key committees are developing their own bill on aid to Ukraine. In it, part of the non-military aid to Ukraine is proposed to be considered as a loan.
This is reported by NBC News with reference to three informed sources.
Now the plan is "raw" and far from full implementation. However, the authors of the draft law hope that the proposal will be able to pass in Congress and will not alienate those Republicans who oppose further aid to Ukraine.
This draft law provides that confiscated Russian assets can be used as collateral for granting loans. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul said the proposal would hold Russia at least partially responsible for the destruction of Ukraine. The plan may also include a "generous repayment plan" for the debt.
Republicans are ready to consider the bill after approval of the financing of the US government, that is, after March 22. At the same time, the issue of financial assistance to Ukraine may be postponed to April, since the US Congress will go on a two-week recess at the end of March.
A US official familiar with the White Houseʼs position told reporters that "this help is better than no help, but itʼs not ideal." According to him, loans will become a significant burden for Ukraine — it can harm the country in the long term and lead to an economic crisis in the future.
The publication writes that the best option for assistance to Ukraine remains the $61 billion aid package, which was approved by the Senate in February and which the House of Representatives refuses to consider.
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
Now the speaker of the US House of Representatives, the Republican Mike Johnson, says that the draft law on additional funding for Ukraine will be considered as soon as the issue with the funding of the federal government is resolved.