Senate looks to clear aid bill Tuesday night with no amendments

House tweaks

The core of the bill mirrors much of what the Senate previously passed in February. But some key changes and additions made in the House carried extra weight with those who were formerly against the bill or wavering.

Those changes include transforming the measure’s $9.4 billion economic aid package for Ukraine into a forgivable loan, with a cost-matching requirement for European allies; authorization for the seizure of frozen Russian assets and use of the proceeds to distribute additional aid to Ukraine; and expanded sanctions on Russia and Iran.

The House also added a popular provision to require Chinese-owned ByteDance Ltd., to sell its stake in TikTok or face a U.S. ban on the social media app, but with a longer divestiture deadline to help get senators on board.

“We think a year is an ample time to allow potential investors to come forward, for due diligence to be completed, and for lawyers to draw up and finalize contracts,” Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said on the floor Tuesday in endorsing the package.

Thune on Tuesday said the addition of the TikTok measure helped grow support for the broader package. “I think there’s a strong contingent on both sides who believe that we’ve got to deal with what is a growing national security threat, and that’s technologies being advanced by foreign adversary countries,” he said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who opposed the earlier aid package in February, said he planned to support the latest version, citing the inclusion of provisions that would make part of the Ukraine funding a loan and would seize frozen Russian assets to help pay for Ukraine assistance.

“I think we’ll have a good, big vote today,” Graham said. “It’s just so much easier to go back home and say ‘Listen, we’re asking people to pay us back when they can, if they can. We’re also going after the bad guys’ assets.’ This is just a much better package. It’s more robust for Israel. So it’s good.”

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(Nina Heller, Aidan Quigley and Briana Reilly contributed to this report.)