Speakers of 23 parliaments issue open letter to Mike Johnson in Ukraine aid support
Photo: The heads of 23 parliaments sent an open letter to US House Speaker Mike Johnson (Getty Images)
The Speakers of 23 parliaments and the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, sent an open letter to the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, to support aid to Ukraine. The letter was initiated by the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, according to a letter published by the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada.
Thus, in this open letter, the parliamentary leaders ask Johnson to introduce HR 815, the US Foreign Assistance Bill, which was passed by the US Senate on February 13, 2024, and provides for an appropriation of $60.06 billion to help Ukraine, to the House of Representatives.
"The bill has now been referred to the House of Representatives and, according to the rules of procedure, Speaker Johnson has the authority to introduce it to the Lower House of the US Congress. We, the speakers of the parliaments, called on Speaker Johnson to facilitate the adoption of a historic decision by the US Congress that will ensure US assistance to foreign countries and provide Ukraine with the necessary funds to continue its struggle," the letter reads.
Open letter to Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson (facebook.com/stefanchuk.official)
Open letter to Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson (facebook.com/stefanchuk.official)
The document emphasizes that the signatories to the letter are committed to further increasing support for Ukraine and its Defense Forces, seeing it as a significant investment in our individual and collective security.
"This will serve as a significant deterrent to further conflicts and will return a sense of control and security to our peoplesю We believe that thanks to your personal leadership. the Congress will demonstrate historic bipartisan unity in support of the collective efforts to assist Ukraine," the authors add. The letter remains open for signature by other parliamentary speakers who wish to join it.
"I really hope that our voice and our call will be heard in the US Congress. Ukraine needs help! Ukraine needs weapons! Ukraine must win!" adds Stefanchuk.
US assistance to Ukraine
On February 28, US House Speaker Mike Johnson said that he would "timely" bring up the extension of aid to Ukraine for a vote, and named the border with Mexico as the priority. In addition, US President Joe Biden also appealed to Congress to help Ukraine, calling for "getting it done," meaning passage of the bill.
The US Senate voted on February 8 to block a bill to allocate funding to support Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan and to secure the US border. According to the results of the vote in the Senate on the night of February 8, 49 lawmakers voted in favor of the initiative, and 50 were against. In total, 60 votes were needed to begin work on the legislative initiative.
However, on February 13, the US Senate voted to finalize the $95.34 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. It should be noted that this is not the final decision of the United States. The bill must now pass the House of Representatives, whose Speaker, Mike Johnson, has already criticized the document.
