Ukraine Aid Bill Advance In Senate

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Monday that Republicans may have helped Russia annex Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, delivering a surprisingly sharp attack just before lawmakers advanced a bill authorizing sweeping U.S. sanctions on Russia and $1 billion in loan guarantees to Ukraine, CNN reported.

The 78-17 procedural vote in favor of the legislation spared President Barack Obama an embarrassing setback while he lobbies U.S. partners on a weeklong trip overseas to punish Moscow for its annexation of the Crimean peninsula, according to CNN.

"Since a few Republicans blocked these important sanctions last work period, Russian lawmakers voted to annex Crimea and Russian forces have taken over Ukrainian military bases," Reid said CNN reported. "It's impossible to know whether events would have unfolded differently if the United States had responded to Russian aggression with a strong, unified voice."

The Nevada Democrat's charge came despite widespread bipartisan support for providing Ukraine with much-needed economic assistance and hitting Putin's government with sanctions, according to CNN.

The Senate bill includes a proposal from one of Obama's fiercest critics, Republican Senator John McCain, enabling the president to impose economic penalties on Russian government officials for corruption even within Russia's own borders, CNN reported.

The broadness of the authorization is unprecedented for Russia, even if applying the sanctions would be at Obama's discretion, according to CNN.

It also includes GOP-opposed reforms of the International Monetary Fund, which the United States, Europe and others are working with to stabilize Ukraine's economy, CNN reported

The Obama administration and Democrats counter that unless the U.S. approves the new rules, Washington will lose its influence at the IMF and hamper the body's ability to avert economic meltdowns in places precisely like Ukraine, according to CNN. The U.S. is the only major country that has yet to sign off.

With American officials warning that Russia could opt to expand further into Ukraine, McCain urged his colleagues to look beyond the IMF provisions and stressed the need for Congress to pass the Senate bill quickly, CNN reported.

"If we do not send this message now, Putin will be encouraged to enact further acts of aggression against Crimea and in the region," McCain said, according to CNN.

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