Agerpres reported that the US Congress on Friday approved a broad bill to fund federal services for Ukraine totaling $1,700 billion in a final vote by the Democrat-dominated House of Representatives.
Had the legislation not been voted down on Friday, the US administration would have stalled. According to the law, $858 billion will go to defense and the rest will go to other domestic programs.
This would increase US spending by 8 percent on the military and 5 percent on other programs.
The package also provides for the allocation of $44.9 billion for military and economic support to Ukraine.
The vote also divided members of the Republican Party. While some said the costs were too high, others supported the move. Among them was Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader of the Senate, where the legislation had already been approved a few days earlier.
In an interview NBC NewsHe said an increase in spending was needed, especially in the context of defense and competition with China.
“We should not only help Ukraine, but we should also have a big starting point with a defense budget. We have spent a lot of money on priorities in the country in recent years. Some people justified it during the pandemic. But the current emergencies are not in the country,” he said.
President Joe Biden is now set to sign the legislation.
After the vote in the House of Representatives, the US president said the measure was “good for our economy and competitiveness, good for our communities” and said he would sign the legislation “once it gets to his desk”. .
Author: T.R
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