U.S. Congress adopts defense policy bill with $250 mn for Ukraine

The U.S. House of Representatives adopted by overwhelming majority the 2021 defense policy bill which provides for sanctions against Nord Stream 2 and security assistance to Ukraine.
The document was supported by 335 congresspersons, 78 lawmakers voted against, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The bill has already been passed in separate versions by the House of Representatives and the Senate and unified into a single document to be re-approved by both houses of the U.S. Congress.

The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act stipulates $250 million in military assistance to Ukraine provided within the framework of the security assistance initiative and aimed to assist Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The $740 billion defense policy bill provides for the allocation of $635.5 billion for the basic needs of the Pentagon. Another $26.6 billion will be spent on national security programs through the Department of Energy and $69 billion will be allocated for operations abroad.

The bill is to be further voted on in the Senate.

Meanwhile, President Trump already promised to veto the document as it does not provide for the repeal of Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act. This section guarantees protection for technology companies from lawsuits for posting, deleting, or modifying user content.

As reported, the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act provides for the allocation of $250 million in security and defense assistance to Ukraine. In addition, the document prescribes a range of measures to respond to security challenges posed by the Russian Federation, including sanctions against Nord Stream 2 and other deterrent measures.