The US House of Representatives on Saturday approved a major aid plan for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as a possible ban on the social network TikTok. Update on this $95 billion envelope, which could be adopted in the Senate as early as next week.
Nearly $61 billion, the majority of approved funds, is dedicated to the war in Ukraine. This money has been requested for months by Volodymyr Zelensky. American aid “will save thousands and thousands of lives,” the Ukrainian president said after the vote. The United States is kyiv’s main military backer, but Congress has not passed a major package for its ally since December 2022, mainly due to partisan squabbling. This aid was distributed during 2023, but the taps are now dry.
The text presented Wednesday provides nearly 14 billion dollars to train, equip and pay the Ukrainian army. Around $10 billion in economic assistance dedicated to the energy and infrastructure sectors will be sent in the form of a loan. The idea was suggested by Donald Trump, who believes that the United States should “stop giving money without expecting to be reimbursed”. This debt may, however, be erased.
A large part of the envelope will also be used to replenish the stocks of the American army and will return to arms factories in the United States. The aid plan also authorizes President Biden to confiscate and sell Russian assets, so that they can be used to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine – an idea that is also gaining ground with other G7 countries.
The plan debated in Congress provides for $13 billion in military assistance to Israel, a historic ally of the United States, at war with Hamas. These funds will be used in particular to strengthen the Israeli anti-missile shield, the “Iron Dome”.
More than $9 billion is also planned to “respond to the urgent need for humanitarian aid in Gaza and other vulnerable populations around the world,” according to a summary of the text. The project, however, prohibits any direct funding from the United States to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. Israel accuses some of its employees of involvement in the October 7 attack carried out by Hamas.
As Joe Biden had demanded, this text devotes more than 8 billion dollars to stand up to China on the military level by investing in submarines, and on the economic level by competing with major Chinese projects in developing countries. development. Several billion dollars are allocated to Taiwan, an island of 23 million inhabitants that China considers one of its provinces.
The bill also provides for the ban on TikTok in the United States if the social network does not cut ties with its parent company ByteDance, and more broadly with China. TikTok has been in the crosshairs of American authorities for several months, with many officials believing that the short and entertaining video platform allows Beijing to spy on and manipulate its 170 million users in the United States.
