The US Congress has started the vote on aid to Ukraine, bypassing Speaker Johnson.

On March 12, Democrats in the House of Representatives of the US Congress officially began their promised attempt to force the chamber to vote on a bill that would provide a $61B aid package to Ukraine. Speaker Mike Johnson has prevented a vote from taking place for a month.

This is a previously announced attempt to bring the document up for consideration in defiance of the Republican leaders who control the House of Representatives. The petition, created by Jim McGovern, requires 218 signatures from lawmakers to force consideration of the Senate-passed foreign aid package, the Hill reports.

McGovern and Democratic leaders hope to find enough bipartisan support for the petition to bypass Johnson’s opposition and bring the bill to the floor.

After he and President Andrzej Duda met in the White House with US President Joe Biden, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the “fate of millions of people” and “thousands of lives” depend on Johnson’s position.