UPDATE - US Senate passes $95B aid bill for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan

ADDS STATEMENTS FROM SENATORS

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US Senate approved a long-awaited $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan on Tuesday.

The chamber passed the bill in a bipartisan 79-18 vote, sending it to President Joe Biden's desk for his signature.

Biden said he will sign the bill into law as soon as it reaches his desk on Wednesday.

"The need is urgent: for Ukraine, facing unrelenting bombardment from Russia; for Israel, which just faced unprecedented attacks from Iran; for refugees and those impacted by conflicts and natural disasters around the world, including in Gaza, Sudan and Haiti; and for our partners seeking security and stability in the Indo-Pacific," he said in a statement released shortly after the Senate passed the bill.

The bill includes more than $60.8 billion for Ukraine, $26.6 billion for Israel and $8 billion for Indo-Pacific allies to counter China.

The bill would also allow nearly $9.1 billion for humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza.

It also includes language to force the Chinese owner of TikTok to sell off the social media app or risk being effectively banned in the US.

- 'Dark day'

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders called the passing of the bill a "dark day" in the US Senate.

"I voted ‘no’ tonight on the foreign aid package for one simple reason: US taxpayers should not be providing billions more to the extremist Netanyahu government to continue its devastating war against the Palestinian people," he said in a statement.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin called the passing of the bill a "major victory for democracy and international unity" but added that the support arrived "tragically late due to a relentless partisan campaign of obstructionism and misinformation.”

“Today, the Senate sends a unified message to the entire world: America will always defend democracy in its hour of need,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor ahead of the final passage.