Refugees Would Get Millions for Housing Under New Bill

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson announced Wednesday that his chamber will finally hold a vote this weekend on passing additional foreign aid including support for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as $481 million to assist refugees in the U.S.

But after releasing text of the funding measures—which are split into three separate bills—Johnson is once against facing pushback from members of his own party, who have withheld authorizing supplemental funding for months.

Drafts of the legislation was unveiled by the House Appropriations Committee and includes over $95 billion in security assistance overall. The bill involving additional funding for Ukraine's defense against Russia allocates $60.84 billion to Kyiv's government and military.

The measure also includes the $481 million for "refugee and entrant assistance activities" within the U.S., such as housing and medical assistance, linguistic services and legal support. The funds would be made available "for grants or contracts with qualified organizations, including nonprofit entities," as well by the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

According to a February report by ABC News, which cited the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), nearly half a million Ukrainian refugees have come to the U.S. since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. More than 319,000 entered the country through President Joe Biden's "Uniting for Ukraine" program, which was launched in April 2022 as a path for Americans to sponsor Ukrainian refugees.

Newsweek reached out to DHS for additional information via email Wednesday night.

Other parts of the Ukrainian assistance bill include funding for the "maintenance and operation" of Kyiv's armed forces and a $23.2 billion boost to replenish U.S. weapons stock and facilities. The remaining two bills include $26.38 billion for Israel's fight against Hamas, and an $8.12 billion boost to the Indo-Pacific region.

GOP lawmakers wasted no time tearing into the bills backed by Johnson, including Tennessee Representative Andy Ogles, who characterized the Ukrainian aid legislation as "The America Last Act" in a post to X, formerly Twitter. Ogles specifically took issue with the millions being allocated for Ukrainian refugees.

Virginia Congressman Bob Good also bashed the inclusion of $300 million that would be made available to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and Ukraine's National Police Force. Good wrote to X on Wednesday afternoon, "$300 million proposed for border police ... in Ukraine! NOTHING for the U.S. Border."

Florida Representative Matt Gaetz responded to Good's post, writing, "Any Republican who votes to proceed onto this Ukraine bill with our border wide open is part of the invasion." Republicans have held out on passing additional aid to Ukraine unless steps are taken to curb migration along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Johnson's short tenure as speaker has been repeatedly threatened by members of his own party amid the fight for additional foreign aid. The Republican leader told CNN Wednesday afternoon, however, that lawmakers "know the urgency in Ukraine and in Israel."

"And we are going to stand by Israel, our close ally and dear friend, and we are going to stand for freedom and make sure that [Russian President] Vladimir Putin doesn't march through Europe," Johnson added. "These are important responsibilities. A strong America is good for the entire world."

Biden said that he supported the spending package and called on the House to pass the measures when they are brought for a vote on Saturday.

"I will sign this into law immediately to send a message to the world: We stand with our friends, and we won't let Iran or Russia succeed," the president added.