US house approves Ukraine loan guarantees

The US House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved a bill allowing the Obama administration to provide for the costs of loan guarantees for Ukraine.The Senate is preparing its own version of the bill, which if passed, would go to President Barack Obama for his signature. Obama, who has pledged 1 billion dollars in aid for Ukraine, is expected to sign it, German Press Agency dpa reported.Earlier Thursday, Obama called for action from the US Congress “specifically to support the IMF’s capacity to lend resources to Ukraine and to provide American assistance for the Ukrainian government so that they can weather this storm and stabilize their economy.”Earlier in the week the Obama administration pledged 1 billion dollars in energy aid in the form of loan guarantees to protect the most vulnerable Ukrainians from lower energy subsidies.