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News > U.S.

US: 40 Billion Aid Package to Ukraine Delayed

  • Military aid package to Ukraine is delayed over the objection of Kentucky Senator Rand Paul. May. 13, 2022.

    Military aid package to Ukraine is delayed over the objection of Kentucky Senator Rand Paul. May. 13, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/@frederickcheng5

Published 13 May 2022
Opinion

A U.S. senator has blocked a fast-track vote to pass a bill allowing 40 billion dollars in military and economic aid to be provided to Ukraine.

Washington's pledge to provide Ukraine with borrowed money has been delayed since Kentucky state Senator Rand Paul in the U.S. Senate asked for oversight of the bill, bringing a minimal delay in acceptance until next week. 

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Members of the Senate requested unanimous approval of the bills, with strong bipartisan support for fast-track passage without debate. The Senator from Kentucky opposed that request, thus blocking the bill's passage. 

Should the bill be modified to appoint a special inspector general to monitor how the aid package is spent, Paul said he would allow a fast-track vote. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer refused to meet the senator's demand.  

According to Schumer, it is a moral obligation of the U.S. to help Ukraine in the ongoing conflict with Russia. Similarly, he said that most Democrats and Republicans are against Paul's alibi and perspective. In this regard, he said that delaying the bill's passage "all it will accomplish is to single-handedly delay desperately needed aid to Ukraine."   

For his part, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) also pushed for an immediate vote on the bill, which passed overwhelmingly in the House on Wednesday. He called for Paul's revision to be voted on as an amendment that would likely fail, clearing the way to passage of the aid package.

The Kentucky senator said the latest aid package would bring total U.S. aid to Ukraine to 60 billion dollars since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict last February 24. In this connection,  Paul stood firm on adding the proposal to the bill, which would send the revised legislation back to the House for a new vote after Senate approval.

Paul said the U.S. is financing the Ukraine war with borrowed money, which would add to the 30 trillion dollars in U.S. debt, fueling the overwhelming inflation crisis in the country. "Americans are feeling the pain, and Congress seems determined to add to that pain by pushing more money out the door as fast as they can," the senator said.

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