US Senate advances foreign aid bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan

Foreign aid totalling billions of dollars for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan advanced in the US Senate on Tuesday, poised for a final vote after the House of Representatives recently resolved a months-long deadlock and endorsed the aid on Saturday.

The Senate voted 80 to 19 in favour of advancing the package of four bills previously approved by the House, surpassing the 60-vote threshold required to proceed to a final passage vote, potentially as early as Tuesday or Wednesday.

One of the bills provided $61bn for Ukraine, a second $26bn for Israel, and a third $8.12bn "to counter communist China" in the Indo-Pacific. A fourth includes a potential ban on the social media app TikTok, measures for the transfer of seized Russian assets to Ukraine, and new sanctions on Iran.

Democratic President Joe Biden has promised to sign it into law as soon as it passes the Senate.

"This is an inflexion point in history. Western democracy perhaps faced its greatest threat since the end of the Cold War," Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in the Senate after the procedural vote.