House approves aid for Ukraine, Israel after bitter battle

[everyonematters]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by JudyM (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: The Hill

House lawmakers in both parties joined forces Saturday to send a massive package of foreign aid to the Senate, ending a long and bitter stalemate over the fate of the legislation and all but ensuring the delivery of billions of dollars in new help to embattled allies across the globe.

The rare weekend votes were the culmination of months of fierce debate within the House GOP conference over how — or even if — Congress should step in with another round of military help for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan while providing humanitarian aid for civilian victims in Gaza and other war-torn regions around the globe.

The debate had split House Republicans into warring factions, pitting Reagan-minded traditionalists — who support strong interventions overseas to counter the imperial designs of Russia and China — against a newer brand of “America First” conservative who fought to limit the foreign spending and focus instead on domestic problems, particularly the migrant crisis at the southern border.

In the end, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) defied his conservative critics, pushing to the floor a series of four bills providing the overseas assistance but detaching those funds from a separate border security bill, which failed on the floor during Saturday’s votes. He framed the aid as a simple, but crucial, continuation of America’s responsibility to democratic allies under siege from despots.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4608263-ukraine-israel-aid-passed/

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Glad they passed the Ukraine aid.

[paleotn]

1. Correction, they're not "America first"

That's a cover. They're Putin first. They need his assistance in creating in America what exists in Russia. Fascism lite, at least in the short term.

[getagrip_already]

2. Indeed, most of that "foreign" aid spending stays right here in the usa

We send materials, not cash. The money is spent here, in manufacturing plants.

Some of the aid doesn't even involve actual money. We ship surplus gear We would have destroyed otherwise. It has a value for accounting purposes but not in reality. An example would be obsoleted munitions. Our military won't use them, but they still work. They would just sit in some depot until they were destroyed.

There is some direct humanitarian aid, but it is a small amount.

[paleotn]

4. Absolutely! Either not costing taxpayers anything new or amounts to an economic stimulus.

Much of what we've sent so far is the DoD rummaging through the back of the closet and the junk drawers. Serviceable, effective, but surplus and / or a generation behind what our current force structure uses. What isn't is made right here. We're still the arsenal of democracy.

Importantly, this conflict has brought attention to where we fall short. Basic artillery rounds for one. We were once awash in a sea of various ammunition from WW2 vintage to Vietnam. Nearly all of that is now obsolete, aged out or used up. The US has doubled production recently but needs to double it several more times to provide for the needs of our allies and our own stocks.

[hueymahl]

3. Great day for arms makers

Not so great a day for world peace.

[paleotn]

5. Tell Vlad Putin that. I'm sure he'll be interested.

[JudyM]

6. Locking after alert

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