"All is not lost": MP says that the US Congress will still be able to approve the allocation of aid to Ukraine
Congress will continue to work for another week, until December 21
Oleksandra Ustinova, a member of the Ukrainian parliament and chairwoman of the Verkhovna Rada's Temporary Special Commission on Monitoring the Use of International Material and Technical Assistance during Martial Law, has announced that the US Congress has been extended for another week, until December 21.
If this information is confirmed, the chances that U.S. lawmakers will have time to pass an aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan this year are increasing.
"All is not lost. Today, senators were told that they will work until December 21, instead of December 15. The Congress has been extended for another week. This means we have another week, so we are keeping our fingers crossed that they will reach an agreement," Ustinova wrote on her Facebook page.
"It looks like the Democrats are ready to make concessions, given that Senator Murphy, who was the Democratic negotiator, has been suspended, and now Senator Schumer, the head of the Senate Democrats, is leading the negotiations. They say that Biden, after meeting with Zelensky, also said to make concessions," she added.
Earlier, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said that Congress is unlikely to approve an additional funding package for Ukraine before Christmas, even if both parties reach an agreement in the coming days.
"It's virtually impossible – even if we reach an agreement – to get a bill through the Senate and send it to the House of Representatives before Christmas," McConnell said, meaning that it's unrealistic to do this work in three days.
After the Christmas recess, both houses of Congress are scheduled to reconvene in the second week of January 2024.
Background. As a reminder, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with U.S. leaders in Washington on December 12 to unblock U.S. aid to Kyiv. Read more about this in Mind's article "$200 million and promises of support: six results of Zelenskyy's visit to the United States".
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