April 2024 | 153 comments (153 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

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rollcall | House passes $95.3B aid package for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, 20 Apr

The $95.3 billion supplemental spending measure passed under an unusual procedure in which lawmakers voted on four separate bills that were then put together into one vehicle, replacing the text of a similar Senate-passed bill that came over from that chamber two months ago.

$60.8 billion for Ukraine [ROLL CALL 311-112]
$26.4 billion "to Israel and humanitarian aid [$9.2B] to Gaza" [ROLL CALL 366-58]
$8.1 billion "to help Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific allies" [ROLL CALL 385-34]

Lastly, the House voted 360-58 to pass a "sidecar" package consisting of some measures related to the foreign aid bills, such as authorizing the seizure of about $5 billion in frozen Russian assets for distribution to Ukraine and toughening sanctions on Russia, Iran and China.

H.R.8038, 21st Century Peace through Strength Act [ROLL CALL 360-58]
That measure would also force the divestiture [sic] of Chinese-owned TikTok or the social media app would be banned in the U.S., and ban data brokers from selling Americans' personal information to countries such as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea or organizations controlled by those governments.

cnn | House passes REPO act that includes hostile TikTok take-over, 19 Apr

Here's what the bill would do:
• Place sanctions on ports and refineries that receive and process Iranian oil.
• Place sanctions on anyone involved in activity covered under the UN missile embargo on Iran that lapsed last year or in the supply or sale of Iran's missiles and drones.
• Further restrict the export of goods and technology of US origin to Iran.
• Empower the executive branch to seize and transfer frozen Russian assets held in the US to Ukraine.
• Give TikTok's Chinese parent, ByteDance, nine months to sell the social media company or it would be banned from US app stores.

< wipes tears >
thehill | Strategic intimacy: US seeks face-to-face rivalry with China, 20 Apr

...Secretary of Stalking Antony Blinken's trip to Beijing this coming week will spotlight how this strategy is holding firm almost five months later, despite unresolved issues and global conflicts threatening to break the relationship apart at any moment.
"We believe that intense competition requires intense diplomacy on a range of issues, and in-depth, face-to-face diplomacy is particularly important to managing tensions," a senior administration official told reporters in a call Friday, previewing Blinken's trip.
"The Secretary will make clear that the United States intends to responsibly manage our competition with the PRC [People's Republic of China]." ...

archive my REPO Act, January 2024 price cap mania, exit plan

by Cat on Sat Apr 20th, 2024 at 08:13:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Batman "deadbeat nation" (none / 1)

whitehouse.gov | Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, 24 Apr

SULLIVAN: ...Germany recently announced the donation of another Patriot system to Ukraine.
[...]
Q Thank you, Jake. How big of an impact will these long-range ATACMS have on the battlefields in Ukraine? And will more long-range ATACMS be sent to Ukraine as part of this $60 billion aid package?
SULLIVAN: So, we've—as I said in my opening comments, we've already sent some. We will send more now that we have additional both authority and money. I'm not going to get into specific numbers for operational reasons.

whitehouse.gov | Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby-content En Route Syracuse, New York, 25 Apr

Q On U—on Ukraine, John, can you say: Is the U.S. considering sending another Patriot battery to Ukraine?
KIRBY: When we send additional items and we can speak to it, we'll certainly let you know. You all saw what is in this first package. These are critical capabilities for them. But clearly, air defense is going to remain something that's a high priority for—for the Ukrainians. And as we can contribute to that air defense across a range of different capabilities—long, medium, and short range—we'll do that.

26 Apr lede concerns: "Chinese interference in U.S. elections"...

MITCHELL @03:39: They say they need air defenses desperately. They want Patriots. The prime minister was here sitting right there last week telling me that. I've checked with our officials in the military, and they say, there's a shortage of Patriots. Germany has sent more Patriots to Ukraine than the US has. Can we get them more?
SULLIVAN: Well, first of all, if yout think about the roled the US plays, it's not just what we send. It's what we work with other countries to send. Secretary Austin runs a monthly meeting ot the defense ministers of 50 countries, almost like a quarterback calling the plays to get air defense interceptors [missiles] into Ukraine. We got some from Germany. We got some from other countries. We got some from the United States, and we are doing a lot of the supplying of the actual missiles that go into that battery—those batteries that get fired. The US Patriot systems right now are deployed around the world, including the Middle East, to protect US troops. If we we can UNLOCK further American Patriot batteries, we would send them. In the meantime, what we're going to do is work with European partners to get them to provide air defense capability to Ukraine. We will do everything we can to protect its skies from the missiles that are raining down on the cities of Ukraine, whether they be Russian missiles or North Korean missiles.