Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday that the international community agrees that the “the government of Russia looks foolish” after annexing Crimea.
Monday evening, the Senate voted 78-17 in the first procedural vote to advance a bill that would give Ukraine a $1 billion loan and more than $100 million in pro-democracy funds, and sanction Russians involved in the military action in Crimea.
{mosads}Reid said he doesn’t see why the Senate couldn’t move to final passage of the legislation later Tuesday.
“There is no reason we can’t pass the bill today,” Reid said. “The situation regarding Ukraine is getting worse, not better.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) accused Reid of injecting “hyper-partisanship” into the debate on the bill. On Monday, Reid accused “radical” Republicans of delaying the bill to benefit the billionaire Koch brothers who donate to GOP campaigns.
“This bill cannot pass the House or become law in its current form,” McConnell said Tuesday. “It must be amended. … The controversial IMF provision must be removed.”