The Senate on Monday easily cleared the first major procedural hurdle on a bill that would provide economic assistance to Ukraine and impose sanctions on Russia, but increased partisan bickering threatens to stall President Barack Obama from signing a final bill anytime soon.
By a 78-17 vote, the Senate voted to advance the bill to a final vote, which is likely to occur sometime later this week. But the Senate's version of the bill contains controversial reforms to the International Monetary Fund that have run into strict opposition from Republicans.
The Obama administration and many Democrats have said the IMF reforms are necessary, while Republicans have said they should be treated as an issue separate from Ukraine aid.
The bill would provide $1 billion in loan guarantees to Ukraine, while imposing sanctions on Russian officials mirroring those handed down by Obama over the past few weeks. The controversial part comes with a provision that would shift $63 billion in International Monetary Fund money from a crisis fund to a general account.
Many Republicans object to the IMF reforms because they are partly paid for by taking money from accounts used to buy Army and Air Force aircraft and missiles. Republicans also argue the reforms would diminish U.S. influence, since they would let the U.S. shift billions from crisis IMF accounts to its general lending fund. For these reasons, many Republicans have come out in vehement opposition of the provision, arguing it could even empower Russia.
Both sides ratcheted up their rhetoric on the issue Monday, signaling a continued impasse that is likely to linger throughout the week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Republicans may have unwittingly helped embolden Russia to annex Crimea by blocking a Senate vote on the bill before the chamber recessed two weeks ago. In response, Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, said Reid sounded "completely unhinged," noting the House had passed a measure to provide aid to Ukraine that doesn't include the IMF reforms.
Obama and leaders of six other world powers said Monday they were suspending Russia from the G-8 and will forego a planned summit in Sochi this June, in protest of Russia's move to annex Crimea. The leaders also indicated they would be willing to imposed coordinated sectoral sanctions on Russia in the event the crisis continues to escalate.