Posted on 05/19/2022 11:44:13 AM PDT by RandFan
A $40.1 billion aid package to help arm the Ukrainian military and provide economic and humanitarian relief is on its way to President Joe Biden’s desk roughly three weeks after he asked Congress for another emergency cash infusion.
The Senate voted 86-11 Thursday to clear the supplemental funding bill, with all of the “no” votes coming from Republicans. Biden is expected to sign the measure quickly, as Thursday was the day his administration anticipated Defense Department funding and “drawdown” authority to send weapons and equipment to Ukraine would run out.
The outcome was preordained after a 368-57 vote in the House last week and after the Senate voted 88-11 to proceed with debate on the measure Tuesday. A large majority of GOP lawmakers in each chamber voted to advance the package.
“Today the Senate will approve more lethal assistance for Ukraine, and it’s going to be a big bipartisan landslide. I encourage every senator on both sides to join this bipartisan supermajority,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the floor before Thursday’s vote. “The most expensive and painful thing America could possibly do in the long run would be to stop investing in sovereignty, stability and deterrence before it’s too late.”
There remained an undercurrent of skepticism among Republicans, however, who argued the package was too large and should be financed with cuts elsewhere in the budget.
“The vast majority of Americans sympathize with Ukraine and want them to repel the Russian invaders. But if Congress were honest, they would take the money from elsewhere in the budget or ask Americans to pay higher taxes or, heaven forbid, loan the money to Ukraine instead of giving it to Ukraine,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said during debate earlier this week. “But Congress will do what Congress does best: spend other people’s money.”
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer blamed GOP reticence on fealty to former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” philosophy.
“It is beyond troubling to see a growing circle of Senate Republicans proudly oppose Ukrainian funding,” Schumer said on the floor Thursday. “It appears more and more MAGA Republicans are on the same soft-on-Putin playbook that we saw used by former President Trump.”
I was worried that America wouldn’t piss a few billion in a pointless war this year
“For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind...” Hosea 8:7
40 billion in US Taxpayer cash for a bunch of criminals and scam artists in the Ukraine.
Zelensky and his gangsters will definitely get this cash into their offshore accounts as covertly as possible.
Only a fool thinks one single nickel of this stolen money will actually go toward “the war effort.”
And without any oversight!!!!
Where’s the money to complete the border wall?
Can they just pay off my house so I can retire in peace? Only a hundred kilobucks
An arms race against who?
Russia is completely incapapable of sustaining an “arms race”. Even China really can’t, not against a focused US.
Sheesh, Congress. What on Earth is wrong with this way of thinking?
A focused US? Hah, that’s rich. The traitors and dip $hits in DC are borrowing enough to float two entire new Ford Class carrier battle groups to be pi$$ed away in Ukraine this week. A “focused US” would have spent that money where the real threat is, China. You have to remember that this summer NATO increases its border to be defended by 800 miles as well. The Russians seem to be holding their own against NATO or are you one of the fools who’ve been lecturing me about Russia’s imminent running out of gas, ammo, tanks, food, spare parts and generals since March 1. We’re arms racing with the Russians to the tune of $20B a MONTH, and that doesn’t even include the dark money billions. Reagan spent the Soviet Union under the table. My grandchildren aren’t willing to borrow the Russians under the table. A “focused US”, that’s the most ridiculous statement I’ve heard in a while.
Nato increased its border, but added no new enemies. Russia added new enemies, AND their own border was also increased.
They don’t have $40 billion to help homeless vets, but they have $40 billion to give to Ukraine, where no doubt much of it will be siphoned off by corrupt politicians. (CoughHunterBidenCough)
Certainly not going to help the inflation. And as for handouts, we outta stop them all, and had the lunatics running this country not shut everything down over covid……well we would be in a lot better place I submit.
We are seeing shortages all over the country, but apparently there are no paper or ink shortages at those dollar bill printing presses 😀
Men and equipment, yes. These are running out. Their current cadres are limited and are taking heavy casualties in Ukraine - all those dead colonels? Consider them proxies for all the dead majors, captains and lieutenants. And that does not measure the wounded, sick and worn out. They have never even tried calling up their reservists in the last 20 years, they have no system for mobilizing them. They dont have the cadre for them anyway.
They have very limited capacity for new construction. There are no great tank factories anymore. IIRC last week their one factory celebrated building 50 T90M’s this year. Consider that situation across the gamut of military equipment. They are living off accumulated resources, and are losing vastly more than they can replace.
Russian equipment stocks are all Soviet stuff. If they try rearm with these things they would have a 1985 army to fight the rest of this war.
Russian equipment and abilities displayed so far are underwhelming.
Yep we are so in the hole won’t argue that!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, the same hopeful disinfo. The exact, verbatim, trash I’ve listened to for ten full weeks. The bumbling, ill equipped, ill led, ragamuffin paper bear that has depleted NATO supplies to the point of provoking Xi and after tens of billions already blown, 40 more billion to clean up the remnants? Give me a dang break! The pentagon boobs even admit our commitment is open ended.
Your POV is rather odd. It comes, perhaps, of the difficult conditions you work under in the troll farm, or perhaps your supplies of alcohol are over-generous. Its hard to imagine Russian management being over-generous, but that my inexperience on these matters showing.
Anyway, the whole thing is now obviously a dogs breakfast, on the Russian part. Its even worse that the Russians have been fighting only a “ragamuffin paper bear”. Its really very careless, at least, to mislay a thousand tanks and other equipment in proportion, while failing to defeat the “ragamuffins”.
I detest our leadership more than anything else in this world. All who voted for this should rot in hell!!!
What is sad is seeing people like you carrying the water for the very people who hates us. The left loves useful idiots such as yourself.
Thieves
Pretty trashy talk for a guy toting your big guy’s water to this quagmire. I really get tired of you hybrid neocon, Biden stooges.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.