Johnson promised to put aid to Ukraine to vote
Mike Turner, Chairman of the US House Intelligence Committee (photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
US House Speaker Mike Johnson has promised to put the issue of funding for Ukraine to a vote. This will happen after Congress returns from Easter vacation, states Mike Turner, Chairman of the US House Intelligence Committee.
"The speaker has made very clear statements that when we get back, it's the next top agenda. After having just passed all the bills that fund the federal government, I believe this is going to have overwhelming support in Congress, and we'll put a bill on the President's desk," Turner said on Face the Nation.
The congressman noted that Speaker Johnson has made it clear that he supports Ukraine, both directly to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and publicly.
"The speaker has made it clear that he supports Ukraine both directly to Zelenskyy. Publicly, he's made these statements and to the Secretary General of NATO," the head of the Intelligence Committee added.
The US House of Representatives is due to return from Easter recess on April 9. Turner expressed hope that the US Congress will be able to approve assistance to Ukraine before the House of Representatives goes on recess again on April 22.
"it's certainly my hope. President Zelenskyy has made clear to Speaker Johnson, we are at a critical point. The CIA director and the Secretary of Defense, everybody has made it clear that we are at a critical juncture on the ground that is beginning to be able to impact not only morale of the Ukrainians that are fighting, but also their ability to fight. Putin knows this. This is obviously an area where we cannot allow Putin to win," he emphasized.
Consideration of assistance to Ukraine in Congress
The US Congress has not been able to reach an agreement on President Joe Biden's request to allocate new funds to finance assistance to Ukraine since last fall.
This year, the US Senate approved a bill that would allocate about $60 billion to finance assistance to Ukraine. The document was passed to the House of Representatives, but it has not yet been submitted for consideration there.
The Senate bill was opposed by Speaker Johnson. He stated that he wanted the document to also include tough measures to protect American borders from migrants.
Recently, Zelenskyy said in an interview with The Washington Post that without American help, Ukraine would have to retreat on the frontline. Before that, the Ukrainian president had a phone conversation with the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
