The U.S. House of Representatives passed a massive $95 billion security assistance legislation for Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel, as well as a bill proposing to ban TikTok.
The $95 billion package, which now moves to the Senate, could be taken up as early as Tuesday.
The majority of funds in the package, nearly $61 billion, are earmarked for Ukraine's war effort against the Russian invasion. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pleading for this money for months, warning that "if Congress does not help Ukraine, Ukraine will lose the war."
Washington is Kyiv's main military supporter, but Congress has not passed a major aid package for its ally since December 2022 due to partisan squabbling.
The bill passed Saturday would provide nearly $14 billion to train, equip and finance the needs of the Ukrainian army.
Ukraine would also receive $10 billion in "forgivable loans" for vital economic and budgetary support, including for the energy and infrastructure sectors.
The idea of a loan, rather than a grant, was suggested by former president Donald Trump, who believes the United States should stop handing out money without any payback. A "forgivable loan" can be partly or fully forgiven or deferred under certain conditions.
A large chunk of this money will also go to replenishing U.S. military stockpiles.
The bill also authorizes the U.S. president to confiscate and sell Russian assets in order to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine, an idea that is also gaining traction with other G7 countries.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for the passage by the U.S. House of Representatives of an aid bill for his country in its war against Russia.
"I am grateful to the United States House of Representatives, both parties, and personally Speaker Mike Johnson for the decision that keeps history on the right track," Zelenskyy wrote on X.
The president said the bill, still to be approved by the U.S. Senate "will keep the war from expanding, save thousands and thousands of lives, and help both of our nations to become stronger."
The United States' historic ally Israel, which is currently accused of carrying out a genocide in Gaza by killing nearly 35,000 Palestinians, will receive $13 billion in military assistance as it continues to carry out attacks in Gaza.
These funds will be used in particular to strengthen Israel's Iron Dome air defense system.
More than $9 billion will be spent to address "the dire need for humanitarian assistance for Gaza as well as other vulnerable populations around the world."
The measure, however, would prohibit any direct U.S. funding of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA).
The agency faces a financing crisis after some key donor countries cut off funding following Israeli accusations that several UNRWA staff in Gaza were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the U.N.
The bill would provide some $8 billion to counter China through investment in submarine infrastructure and boosting competition with Chinese projects in developing countries.
The bill also earmarks several billion dollars in weapons funding for Taiwan, a self-ruled island that is claimed by China.
Another bill passed Saturday would force TikTok to divest from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or face a nationwide ban in the United States.
American officials have voiced alarm over the popularity of TikTok with young people, alleging that it is subservient to Beijing and a conduit to spread propaganda, claims denied by the company and Beijing.
