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The Senate on Sunday pushed a $95 billion emergency aid bill for Ukraine and Israel past a critical hurdle, with a bipartisan vote that kept it on track for passage within days.

The vote was 67-27 to move forward on the package, which would dedicate $60.1 billion to helping Kyiv in its war against Russian aggression, send $14.1 billion to Israel for its war against Hamas and fund almost $10 billion in humanitarian assistance for civilians in conflict zones, while addressing threats to the Indo-Pacific region. In a rare Sunday session, 18 Republicans joined Democrats to advance the measure, which leaders expect the Senate will approve as soon as Wednesday.

Its no exaggeration to say the eyes of the world are on the United States Senate, Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the minority leader, said on the floor on Sunday, appealing to his colleagues to back the bill. He maintained that U.S. allies dont have the luxury of pretending that the worlds most dangerous aggressors are someone elses problem and neither do we.

Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, said on the floor, Were going to keep working on this bill until the job is done. He commended Republicans who had backed the measure for working in good faith to get this done and asserted that it was essential for the Senate to pass the legislation. It had been decades, Mr. Schumer added, since Congress considered a bill that so significantly impacts not just our national security, not just the security of our allies, but the very security of Western democracy and our ideals.

But steep hurdles still remain for the bill in the Republican-led House, where it faces staunch opposition fueled by the America First stance of former President Donald J. Trump.

The bipartisan endorsement in the Senate came over the bitter opposition of right-wing Republicans who have railed against the measure, contending that the United States should not be continuing to send tens of billions of dollars to bolster Ukraines security, particularly without first doing more to secure its own border with Mexico against an influx of migration. They have continued to make the argument even after voting last week to kill a version of the aid bill that included a border crackdown, saying it did not go far enough.

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Ukraine-Israel Aid Bill Clears Critical Hurdle in the Senate - The New York Times

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