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House Speaker Johnson moving forward with aid plan for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan

By Mike Heuer
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced Wednesday he plans to advance an aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan this week, despite facing internal opposition from Freedom Caucus members. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI.
1 of 4 | U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced Wednesday he plans to advance an aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan this week, despite facing internal opposition from Freedom Caucus members. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI. | License Photo

April 17 (UPI) -- House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., revealed three foreign aid bills Wednesday to help Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, respectively, despite opposition from some conservative lawmakers.

The proposed measures would provide military aid for Ukraine and Israel, and humanitarian aid for Gaza. They also would improve security for Taiwan and help stabilize the Indo-Pacific region, Politico, Roll Call and The Hill reported.

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Three separate House bills would provide aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. A fourth House bill would place sanctions on Iran and China, force the sale of the social app TikTok in the United States by its Chinese owners and seize Russian assets.

Johnson told House lawmakers he'll provide the text for the fourth House bill Wednesday.

Some of the aid proposed for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan would be in the form of loans, with mandates regarding potential military oversight and strategy.

President Joe Biden voiced his support for the proposed aid measures in a statement Wednesday.

"I strongly support this package to get critical support to Israel and Ukraine, provide desperately needed humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza and bolster security and stability in the Indo-Pacific," Biden said.

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"Israel is facing unprecedented attacks from Iran, and Ukraine is facing continued bombardment from Russia that has intensified dramatically in the last month," Biden added.

The president said the House and Senate should pass the aid package this week.

"I will sign this into law immediately to send a message to the world: We stand with our friends, and we won't let Iran or Russia succeed," Biden said.

The House bills are similar to a $95 billion aid package recently approved in the Senate, but it requires Ukraine to repay $10 billion in economic support.

One bill would provide Israel with $26 billion, including $4 billion earmarked for missile-defense systems and $9.2 billion for humanitarian aid.

Another bill would provide Ukraine with $60.8 billion to help with its military defense against Russia, including $23 billion for U.S.-made weapons and ordnance, $13.8 billion for advanced arms and $26 million for aid oversight.

A third bill would provide $8 billion to assist Indo-Pacific nations.

Although the president supports the measures, members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus pose the greatest obstacle to their passage.

Some Freedom Caucus members said they will work to defeat the measures because they say they don't sufficiently address problems at the U.S. border, specifically in the southwest.

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House Democrats want Johnson to bring the Senate-approved foreign aid measures to a floor vote, which would enable Biden to sign them into law if the House passes them.

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