Rule for debate on war supplemental heads to House floor

Roy said the separate border bill was “just a sideshow that wasn’t going to result in anything.” He added that the rule under consideration Thursday for the aid package “will not include anything that touches the border.”

The aid bills for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific largely mirror a Senate-passed combined measure, with $60.8 billion for the Ukraine war effort, and nearly $26.4 billion in military aid to Israel and humanitarian assistance for Gaza.

The third bill, totaling $8.1 billion, would provide nearly $4 billion in security assistance to Taiwan and other regional allies along with money to replenish depleted U.S. stocks, $3.3 billion for submarine infrastructure and more.

But unlike the Senate-passed version, roughly $9.5 billion in economic aid to Ukraine would be structured as a loan, with repayment terms set by the president.

A fourth bill tacked onto the package would impose sanctions on Russia and Iran, on multinational criminal organizations for fentanyl trafficking, Iranian petroleum and missiles, among other matters. The legislation also targets the TikTok social media platform, and would give Chinese owner ByteDance Ltd. up to a year to divest the app.

President Joe Biden, who has pushed for the aid package since the Senate passed it in February, said Wednesday he “strongly” supports the House bills.

Progress on the aid package came amid reports of Israeli missile strikes on targets in Iran, a response to Iranian drone and missile attacks against Israeli targets on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, the House adopted a resolution condemning the Iranian attack, endorsing Israel’s right to defend itself and reaffirming the U.S. commitment to Israel’s security. The vote was 404-14; most of the “no” votes were Democrats, with Massie the lone Republican opponent.

During the morning hearing portion of the Rules meeting, Massie raised several concerns with the legislation, including whether military assistance to Ukraine could be used to purchase cluster munitions, which can be effective in spreading bomblets over a wide area but pose a risk to civilians.

House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who testified before Rules, said he understood Massie’s concerns but added that Russians are using those bombs against the Ukrainians in Ukraine. “The Ukrainians just want to use them in their own country to get the Russians out,” he said. “They are highly effective weapons.”

Massie also criticized a provision of the package that allows for seizing Russian assets held in the U.S., saying such a move could make foreign creditors “have less appetite for what was the most secure investment in the world, which is the U.S. Treasury.”

He said Russia might retaliate by seizing American assets in Russia.

McCaul defended the provision, which he said would “let Russia pay for its own war crimes, not the American taxpayers.”

Massie sought to have his amendment barring Ukraine aid funds from being used to purchase cluster munitions included among those considered on the floor. But the Rules panel rejected his proposal on a 2-10 vote, with only Massie and Roy in support.

(Olivia Bridges and Aidan Quigley contributed to this report.)