Pro-Ukraine lawmakers in both parties are working to get key provisions surrounding U.S. support for Kyiv passed into law by January, an effort to safeguard assistance that is under threat in a transition to a Trump administration and full GOP control of Congress.
If passed into law, the Stand With Ukraine Act would compel the president to request ongoing military and economic support for Ukraine in its defensive war against Russia. The bill’s goal is to help overcome increasing partisanship around the passage of supplemental aid packages.
The legislation is bipartisan and bicameral, sponsored in the House by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and Mike Quigley (D-Ill.). It’s sponsored by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in the Senate.
Some lawmakers are working to transform the bill’s provisions to amendments for the National Defense Authorization Act, a House aide told The Hill. The NDAA is considered must-pass, end-of-year legislation that authorizes appropriations for the Pentagon and other defense-related activities.
It’s not yet clear if lawmakers would seek to put most of the Stand with Ukraine Act provisions into one amendment or file a few separate amendments. Other supporters of the bill said it should be brought up for a standalone floor vote.
“Just have [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer (D-N.Y.) bring it up and let’s vote,” Graham told The Hill.
Either way, time is running out to secure passage of the bill before President-elect Trump — who is openly critical of how much aid the U.S. has provided to Ukraine — comes into office. The House and Senate have three more working weeks in December.
Trump has pledged to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, saying he’ll bring together Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to make a peace deal.
While support for Ukraine in the Senate remains fairly robust, Trump’s skepticism is shared by many Republicans in the House.
It’s not clear if House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) would support putting stand-alone legislation on the floor, given that approximately half of the conference voted against a $60 billion aid package for Ukraine that passed in April. Also, passage of the bill could be viewed as constraining Trump’s future moves on Ukraine and Russia.
“I don’t expect we’ll see anything before the end of the year,” said Quigley.
Wilson also said it’s better to wait for Trump’s return before moving on the legislation, but added he will push hard for the bill to be considered in the next Congress.
“It’s not that the bill is not good, it is just that, there is a deferral when you have a new Congress elected, a new president, elected a new majority in the U.S. Senate,” he said. “I think it’s more crucial and more obvious than ever that war-criminal Putin is not to be trusted.”
But Republican attitudes are trending away from Ukraine, and that’s unlikely to change in the next Congress. In April, 112 Republicans voted against the Ukraine supplemental aid package — more than half the conference. On Wednesday, 37 Republican senators voted in favor of a joint resolution of disapproval, sponsored by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky), that aimed to force Ukraine to pay back loans provided by the U.S.
Blumenthal said passage of the bill could help put Ukraine in a better negotiating position with Russia, demonstrating bipartisan backing from the U.S. Congress.
“If there are negotiations, as President-elect Trump has said there should be, then Ukraine’s position at the bargaining table should be one of strength as a result of gains on the battlefield and also support in Congress, so I think that kind of measure from Congress could be very important,” he said.
“I’ll take any course,” he said of his preference for how it gets passed.
The bill itself doesn’t authorize new funding for Ukraine. But it directs the president to submit budget requests to Congress on what amount is needed to execute the provisions of the bill.
Some of the topline provisions of the Stand with Ukraine Act include prioritizing sending air defense, artillery and long-range missiles, armored vehicles, among other fighting systems.
The text of the bill also commits the U.S. to help in modernizing Ukraine’s security capabilities, strengthening joint military relationships, prioritizing excess U.S. defense article transfers to Ukraine and fast-tracking foreign military financing sales to Ukraine.
The bill’s drafting is an attempt by Congress to codify the 10-year bilateral security agreement that President Biden signed with Zelensky in June — safeguarding the agreement from any effort by a potential Trump administration to retreat from the commitments.
Other provisions include treating Ukraine as a major non-NATO ally for the purpose of transferring defense assistance; reauthorizing the Lend-Lease for Ukraine, which would allow the transfer of U.S. weapons to Ukraine and allow payback at a later date; and supporting Ukraine in its reconstruction and recovery efforts.
U.S. support for Ukraine is seen by its backers as indispensable in the country’s efforts to push back against Russia’s nearly three-year invasion. Zelensky has warned against a disruption of the US-Europe alliance that has held firm under Biden.
“This period, this moment depends, I think, on our unity in Ukraine,” Zelensky said in an interview Wednesday with Fox News. “And I think that what is very dangerous if we will lose unity in Europe and what is most important, unity between Ukraine and the United States.”
