Foreign aid package should be celebrated as rare legislative win

OPINION:

A version of this story appeared in the daily Threat Status newsletter from The Washington Times. Click here to receive Threat Status delivered directly to your inbox each weekday.

Washington delivered a rare and much-needed bipartisan win when Congress passed a $95 billion defense aid package for American allies fighting on the front lines to defend democracy. The legislation also cracks down on Chinese Communist Party-backed TikTok.

Advancing American Freedom, the advocacy group I founded, spent more than $2 million waging an advertising campaign to pressure Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer to bring the legislation to a full floor vote. I thank him for finally doing so — as well as the bipartisan majority in both the House and Senate that supported the bill, and President Biden, who signed it into law and delivered an important win for freedom.

Despite the rising tide of isolationism that has led some to call for abdicating America’s responsibility to lead the free world, Republicans and Democrats set aside the politics of the moment. They delivered urgent military support to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

The aid package provides nearly $61 billion to help Ukraine drive back Russia’s unprovoked invasion. In addition to delivering air defense capabilities, artillery and armored vehicles, the package also allows the seizure of frozen Russian assets to deliver even more aid to our embattled Ukrainian allies.

Israel, America’s most cherished ally, will receive more than $26 billion in aid thanks to bipartisan law. After enduring the worst terrorist attack since 9/11, Israel is waging a war for its survival against the terrorist group Hamas. The funds will be used to resupply the Iron Dome and David’s Sling defense systems that protect Israel from the barrage of missiles and drones fired by Hamas and Iran’s other proxies in the region. The bill also blocks all funding from going to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, a known Hamas collaborator.

And $8 billion will be used to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific, including new investments in submarine infrastructure and the replenishment of U.S. weapons provided to Taiwan.

Finally, the bill forces the sale of TikTok to a company not controlled by our adversaries — or face prohibition across the U.S. TikTok is a grave national security threat controlled by the Chinese Communist Party used to surveil more than 150 million Americans. The app is essentially digital fentanyl, a 21st-century technological weapon that is so potent and addictive that it is banned in China. Now, thanks to both Republicans and Democrats, TikTok’s parent company will have nine months to divest itself of the popular social media app.

At a time when Washington seems more divided than ever, it’s important for Americans to remember that bipartisan cooperation is still possible. Members of both parties deserve praise for their willingness to put aside partisan differences and prioritize the safety and security of our nation and its allies. Together, they’ve shown that America remains the indispensable leader of the free world.

• Mike Pence is a husband, father, grandfather, Christian, conservative and Republican — in that order. He served as the 48th vice president.