The United States Capitol is the seat of Congress.
(Photo: dpa)
The US Congress has passed the government’s new budget, which, among other things, provides for billions in aid for Ukraine. The US House of Representatives approved the $1.7 trillion budget on Friday. The Senate had previously approved the law. Defense spending accounts for about half of the budget.
Almost 858 billion US dollars are planned for this. Around 45 billion US dollars have been earmarked for supporting Ukraine. US President Joe Biden still has to sign the legislative package into force – which, according to the White House, he wants to do promptly.
The passage of the budget bill is a success for the Democrats. The budget includes slightly more support for Ukraine than Biden originally requested from Congress. Only on Wednesday did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy campaign for further support in an impassioned speech before the US Congress in Washington. “Your money is not charity, it is an investment in global security and democracy, which we will handle in a highly responsible manner,” Zelenskiy said before both chambers of parliament.
The almost 45 billion US dollars that have now been decided for Ukraine include around 9 billion dollars for military aid and almost 16 billion dollars for economic and humanitarian aid for the attacked country. In addition, twelve billion dollars are planned to replenish the US military’s ammunition stocks and stores after deliveries to Ukraine. Another $7 billion is earmarked for additional spending by US troops in Europe.
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The new budget finances government business until September next year. The vote in the House of Representatives was actually expected on Thursday. Since the bill is more than 4,000 pages long, it took some time after the Senate approved it to prepare a vote in the other chamber of Parliament.
Congress must meet a deadline when passing the budget, otherwise there is a risk of a so-called shutdown – and the government will become insolvent. Then, for example, civil servants must be forced to take leave or work temporarily without pay. Negotiations often last until the last minute.
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In this case, the deadline for the new budget would actually have expired last week. However, this was extended by a week through the adoption of an interim budget. There was another technical extension of the deadline on Friday: it is intended to ensure that there are no gaps, even if Biden only signs the law in the coming days.
In response to the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, the package also includes reforms to the election law and clarifies that the vice president has no authority to annul the result of a presidential election. At the time, Mike Pence, in his role as Vice President, chaired the session of Congress to formally confirm the outcome – a ceremonial task. Trump had previously called on him to block the procedure.
Biden called these reforms “long overdue steps” to protect the integrity of elections. They would help ensure that the will of the people is preserved. He called the new budget “further proof” that Republicans and Democrats together could achieve something for the people of the United States.
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