TRANSCRIPT:
Following months of delay, the United States House of Representatives has passed a $148 billion [[$95 billion USD]] four bill package that will provide security assistance to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
The bills now proceed to the Democratic-majority Senate, which passed a similar measure more than two months ago.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is confident Congress will approve this too.
"House Democrats have worked hard to bring about a moment where we are standing with our Democratic allies throughout the world, including Israel, Ukraine and in the Indo-Pacific... This is a moment where the Congress is required to stand up for democracy, freedom and truth, and push back against aggression."
The legislation was approved in the House with broad bipartisan support, despite some hardline Republicans voicing strong opposition, arguing the US cannot afford it given its rising $34 trillion national debt.
But Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson says passing the package was the right thing to do
"Our process in the end ensured that each member was able to consider the individual supplemental elements on their own merits, which is exactly how the house is supposed to work. I know there are critics of the legislation. I understand that, it is not a perfect piece of legislation. We're not ensured that in a time of divided government and in a time where there are lots of different opinions, but there's no question whatsoever that the House has made many strong improvements to the Senate bill, and the product that we've sent over there is much better."
Those hardliner opponents, also supporters of Donald Trump, have repeatedly raised the threat of ousting Johnson, who became the Speaker of the House after his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, was removed by the far right faction.
Among them is Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who says every American should be furious at the decision.
"There is more support. It's growing. I've said from the beginning, I'm going to be responsible with this. I support my majority. I support the majority next time. I do not support Mike Johnson, he's already a lame duck. If we have the vote today in our conference, he would not be speaker today. He's already a lame duck, he can't raise money. Everyone knows that. We know we can't win the majority next year without raising money. He can't be speaker. He doesn't have the vote. This is the process."
The legislation has also attracted some criticism because of its funding stance for UNRWA, the UN agency accused of involvement in the October 7 Hamas attack.
Congress has already approved a one-year ban on funding, despite many Western allies suspending and later reinstating their own contributions.
Mike Johnson says they are still wary.
"We put safeguards in the legislation to ensure that UNWRA is not funded after the agency participated in the October 7th attack on Israel. We've also language that prevents any of the funding going to Hamas or any other bad actors. That's a very important element of oversight. Congress takes the oversight very seriously, and we will continue to keep an eye on every dollar that we are using and investing at this time."
But even as the bill creates headaches on the domestic political front, America's allies say they are grateful for the assistance it will bring.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says it will save lives and "bring a just end" to the war with Russia.
"I thank everyone who supported our package – this is a life-saving decision. I am grateful personally to Speaker Mike Johnson, to all American hearts who, like us in Ukraine, feel that Russian evil definitely should not prevail. I hope that the package will be considered in the U.S. Senate and submitted to President Biden’s desk quickly enough."
The Senate is expected to pass the measure next week, sending it to President Joe Biden to sign into law.
