Speakers of 23 parliaments, including the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk, and the President of the European Parliament have called on US House Speaker Mike Johnson to introduce a bill to provide Ukraine with about $60 billion in aid and to facilitate the adoption of this historic decision by the US Congress. This was announced on Wednesday by the initiator of this letter, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk, UNN reports.
"An open letter from the speakers of 23 parliaments and the President of the European Parliament to the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mike Johnson. I, as the initiator of this letter, am grateful to my colleagues for such quick and broad support," Stefanchuk wrote in X.
In this open letter, we, the heads of parliaments, ask our American counterpart to introduce to the House of Representatives of the United States Congress the bill HR 815 on US international assistance, which was adopted on February 13, 2024 by the US Senate and provides for the appropriation of $60.06 billion to help Ukraine
The Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada noted that the bill has now been submitted to the House of Representatives and, "according to the rules of procedure, Speaker Mike Johnson has the authority to submit it for consideration by the lower house of the US Congress.
We, the speakers of the parliaments, have called on Speaker Mike Johnson to help the U.S. Congress pass a historic decision that will ensure U.S. assistance to foreign countries and provide Ukraine with the necessary funds to continue its fight. I really hope that our voice and our call will be heard in the U.S. Congress. Ukraine needs help! Ukraine needs weapons! Ukraine must win!
Recall
US President Joe Biden and Democratic and Republican congressional leaders met in the Oval Office of the White House on February 27 to discuss, among other things, a vote on support for Ukraine.
As a result, Speaker Johnson saidthat he would bring aid to Ukraine to a vote "in a timely manner" and that the priority is the border with Mexico.
On February 13, the Senate approved a bill that provides $95.34 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Approximately $60 billion of this aid is earmarked for Ukraine. In order to become law, the bill must be approved by the House of Representatives and signed by the US President.
Among the Republicans, Johnson's position was called an obstacle .