The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives is expected to vote on Saturday on aid to Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific region, along with a national security bill that could effectively ban TikTok in the United States.
Below is what the four projects include, according to a summary issued by the House Appropriations Committee.
What does the aid bill for Ukraine contain?
The largest of the four projects, in dollar terms, allocates $60.84 billion to support Ukraine in its two-year battle to repel the Russian war.
This amount includes $23.2 billion to compensate for the shortage of weapons and replenish American stocks and facilities, and $11.3 billion for current American military operations in the region.
The United States does not have forces in Ukraine, but Washington provides training to Ukrainian forces elsewhere in the region, in addition to, among other things, maintaining readiness and presence throughout the continent.
It also includes $13.8 billion to purchase advanced weapons systems as well as $26 million to “continue oversight and accountability” for aid to Ukraine.
If approved, this funding will bring the total US investment in the conflict to $170 billion. This will be the first new funding approved by Congress since Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in January 2023.
How much aid will Israel receive?
The bill allocates $26.38 billion to support Israel and cover US military operations in response to recent attacks.
About $5.2 billion will go to compensate for the shortfall in the Israeli missile defense system and expand it. Another $3.5 billion will go toward purchasing advanced weapons systems, $1 billion to enhance weapons production, and $4.4 billion for other supplies and services provided to Israel.
The draft law will prohibit providing funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
What about aid to the Indo-Pacific region?
The bill would provide $8.12 billion to “counter communist China and ensure strong deterrence in the region” as China flexes its military might.
An amount of around $3.3 billion will be allocated to develop submarine infrastructure, in addition to $2 billion in foreign military financing for Taiwan and other key allies in the region to support them “in the face of Chinese aggression.”
What is included in the TikTok ban bill?
A bill that emerged late on Wednesday night would give ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns the short-video social app TikTok, up to a year to sell its US assets or face a ban on making its app available in US app stores or on US hosting servers. The company will do so for twice the period that the draft law approved by the House of Representatives last month would have allowed.
One of the laws would also allow the federal government to transfer frozen Russian sovereign assets to Ukraine and expand sanctions on Iran and its oil production.
The aid package also includes several measures related to sanctions on Iran, including two measures that “could clearly impact Iranian oil exports if implemented,” according to Clear View Energy Partners, a research group.
The United States already imposes numerous sanctions on Iranian oil exports because of its nuclear program, but shipments have increased in light of strong demand from China.
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