Speaker of U.S. House of Reps intends to consider his bill on aid to Ukraine after holidays – media
The Speaker of the House of Representatives of the American Congress Mike Johnson said that after the Easter holidays, which will last until April 9, he intends to submit for consideration a bill on additional assistance to Ukraine, which will include important innovations.
In an interview with Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy, Johnson stressed that he was working on a package of measures and plans to introduce it when the House of Representatives convenes. We'll be introducing a new product, but I think there will be some important innovations, he said.
As an example of innovations, Johnson cited the provision of a loan to Ukraine, and also mentioned the REPO law (a transaction for the sale of securities that provides for their repurchase). This law gives the president the power to seize Russian sovereign assets frozen in the United States and transfer them to Ukraine for use against Russia.
According to him, even President Trump has talked about the concept of a loan, where we don't just provide foreign aid, but we establish a relationship with them where they can pay it back to us when the time comes.
Johnson believes it is also possible to establish exports of natural gas by the United States, which would reduce Russia's income from its sales abroad.
At the same time, Johnson, given the slim Republican majority in the House, lamented the difficulties he faces in considering the additional aid bill.
If we want to pass partisan measures, I need literally every member of the party, Johnson said. At the same time, he said, some issues need to be addressed in a bipartisan manner and when it comes to additional measures, we are working to achieve consensus.
Johnson told Senate Republican colleagues in March that he would be willing to craft his own version of a Ukraine aid bill that would be significantly different from the $95 billion foreign aid package approved by the Senate in February.
He did not, however, specify whether he would still insist on linking approval of aid to Kyiv to tough immigration reform in the United States.