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House passes nearly $40 billion in aid for Ukraine and sends package to the Senate

Residents receive food supplies May 7 as volunteers deliver daily from a warehouse of a humanitarian aid distribution center in Severodonetsk, eastern Ukraine
Yasyoshi Chiba
/
AFP via Getty Images
Residents receive food supplies May 7 as volunteers deliver daily from a warehouse of a humanitarian aid distribution center in Severodonetsk, eastern Ukraine

Updated May 10, 2022 at 10:30 PM ET

The House on Tuesday night voted 368-57 to pass nearly $40 billion in additional military, economic and humanitarian aid to Ukraine to fight against Russia's invasion.

The measure now goes to the Senate, which Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said will act on it "swiftly" and send to President Biden.

According to multiple congressional sources, the latest package includes $3.4 billion in new funding for food aid and an equal $3.4 billion increase in spending authority for military aid.

In a letter to her House colleagues ahead of the vote, Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote "Time is of the essence — and we cannot afford to wait. With this aid package, America sends a resounding message to the world of our unwavering determination to stand with the courageous people of Ukraine until victory is won."

On Monday, President Biden said he was droppinghis request to combine the Ukraine money with a separate request for additional COVID-19 response funds, so that the Ukraine aid could pass quickly.

"This aid has been critical to Ukraine's success on the battlefield. We cannot allow our shipments of assistance to stop while we await further congressional action," Biden said. "We are approximately 10 days from hitting this critical deadline."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin sent a letter to lawmakers urging them to pass the expanded aid for Ukraine.

Republicans had threatened to block the COVID-19 money because of an unrelated border policy dispute.


A version of this story originally appeared in the Morning Edition live blog.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Kelsey Snell is a Congressional correspondent for NPR. She has covered Congress since 2010 for outlets including The Washington Post, Politico and National Journal. She has covered elections and Congress with a reporting specialty in budget, tax and economic policy. She has a graduate degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. and an undergraduate degree in political science from DePaul University in Chicago.