In a 70-29 vote, Senate approves package to support U.S. allies and deliver humanitarian assistance
***WATCH: Senator Murray urges colleagues to pass national security supplemental***
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement on the Senate voting 70-29 to pass the national security supplemental:
“Now that the Senate has passed a comprehensive national security supplemental with an overwhelming bipartisan majority, it’s time for the Speaker to schedule a vote on this bipartisan package immediately—because our friends in Ukraine are not just counting how many days it will take for Congress to deliver on this aid, they are literally counting how much ammunition they have left to beat back Putin’s bloody invasion. We don’t have a second to waste.
“This is a moment for Congress to show that American leadership is still alive. Let’s do more than send a message—let’s send ammunition to Ukraine, let’s live up to our commitments to our allies, and let’s continue America’s long tradition of helping those in need by delivering critical humanitarian aid to civilians caught in conflict around the world.”
The $95.34 billion national security supplemental package includes:
- $60.06 billion to support Ukraine as it fights back against Putin’s bloody invasion and protects its people and sovereignty.
- $14.1 billion in security assistance for Israel.
- $2.44 billion to support operations in the U.S. Central Command and address combat expenditures related to conflict in the Red Sea.
- $9.15 billion in humanitarian assistance to provide food, water, shelter, medical care, and other essential services to civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, Ukraine, and other populations caught in conflict zones across the globe.
- $4.83 billion to support key regional partners in the Indo-Pacific and deter aggression by the Chinese government.
- $481 million to continue support for Ukrainians displaced by Putin’s war of aggression.
- $400 million for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program to help nonprofits and places of worship make security enhancements.
- The Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act.
After Senate Republicans indicated they would vote against the comprehensive, bipartisan national security package that included border policy provisions they had demanded as a condition for extending support for Ukraine, Senator Murray released an updated version of the package that excludes the bipartisan border policy provisions negotiated by Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), and James Lankford (R-OK) and funding to pair. Senate Republicans then blocked consideration of the comprehensive package, which included the border provisions, in a 49-50 vote, and today, the Senate has approved the revised version of the package, which excludes those provisions.
Senator Murray has led efforts to extend U.S. support for Ukraine—and as Appropriations Chair, she has pushed at every step of the way to ensure Congress approves a comprehensive national security supplemental with aid for our allies and desperately needed humanitarian assistance. When President Biden submitted his full national security supplemental funding request in October, Senator Murray made clear Congress must deliver on the urgent priorities in the request, chaired a hearing to discuss those priorities with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, and immediately got to work negotiating a bipartisan package. Senator Murray has blocked repeated attempts to pass a standalone military assistance package for Israel without humanitarian assistance for innocent civilians in Gaza—or aid for Ukraine—and she has insisted on passage of a comprehensive package to address the interrelated national security challenges. In December, she released and pushed to pass a comprehensive package with aid for Ukraine, Israel, and our partners in the Indo-Pacific, as well as humanitarian assistance and resources to address needs at our border—but the comprehensive package was blocked by Senate Republicans, who insisted that border policy changes be tied to funding for Ukraine. Senator Murray continues to push to address other vital supplemental funding needs, including key domestic priorities included in the President’s separate funding request.
###