Push in US Congress to pass funding for Ukraine and Israel

As a major funding bill for Ukraine and Israel continues to be held up in Congress, several House members are trying to find ways to push it through for a vote.

Two groups, one formed of House Democrats and another bipartisan, have filed discharge petitions to try to get around the House Republican leadership to bring the US$95 billion bill, including around US$14 billion in aid to Israel, to a vote. This would be the only way to sidestep the conventional process. 

The process would require bipartisan support, which already appears to be the case with at least one of the petitions. As of Tuesday, according to a report by Jewish Insider, the Democratic petition had reached 169 signatures out of 218 or an absolute majority required to move forward.

"What we are asking our colleagues — Democrats and Republicans — is to sign the discharge petition that will bring to the floor the Senate national security bipartisan supplemental," Democratic Representative Pete Aguilar of California, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said at a press briefing Tuesday, according to The Hill. "That is the fastest and easiest way to solve this issue."

While the bill is popular among mainstream Democrats, some in the left wing of the party have expressed their opposition to the bill due to the billions in supplemental military funding to Israel, particularly amid the war in Gaza. Over the last six months, Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 31,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them civilians. Meanwhile, Israel has reportedly been pressuring the US for more military aid.

The funding bill has been a significant target of protesters, many of whom are advocating for a ban or at least putting conditions on US military aid to Israel.

Though the bill would likely pass if brought to the House floor for a vote, Speaker Mike Johnson has so far refused to get it to a vote, mainly over right-wing Republican opposition to funding for Ukraine.