US Senate Votes to Deliberate on $95 Billion Foreign Military Aid Bill

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[America spends insane amounts of money. Jan]

Days of debate on the $95 billion bill are expected as Sen. Paul vowed to do what he can to slow it down

by Dave DeCamp February 8, 2024 at 9:09 pm ET

The Senate on Thursday voted to begin deliberations on a $95 billion foreign military aid bill that stripped out border spending that was in the original $118 billion piece of legislation, which the chamber voted down on Wednesday.

The Senate voted 67-32 to take up the new bill, signaling that it will get the 60 votes that are needed when it comes up for a final vote. But it’s unclear when the next vote will happen as Republicans might try to add some amendments to the spending package.

The debate will likely take days as Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is looking to slow the process as much as he can. “I’ll object to anything speeding up this rotten foreign spending bill’s passage,” Paul wrote on X.

The bill includes about $60 billion for the proxy war in Ukraine, $14 billion to support the Israeli slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza, and $4.8 billion for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region.

Senate Republicans rejected the initial $118 billion bill after months of negotiations, enraging Democrats. Seventeen Republicans voted with Democrats on Thursday to take up the foreign military aid bill, which would be enough to pass the bill through the chamber.

It would also likely pass through the House if a vote happens, but House Republicans could prevent it from being brought to the floor until they get a border deal that they like. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was the first to reject the $118 billion bill after it was unveiled by the Senate, saying the House was left out of the negotiations.

Source: https://news.antiwar.com/2024/02/08/senate-votes-to-deliberate-on-foreign-military-aid-bill-but-unclear-if-it-will-pass/