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Biden administration seeks billions more in Ukraine aid

11 August 2023 14:54 (UTC +04:00)

The Biden administration has unveiled a $40 billion supplemental funding request to Congress, which includes aid for the war in Ukraine, border and migration, disaster response and firefighter pay -- an ask that will be a hard sell to Republican lawmakers in the House, APA reports citing ABC News.

For Ukraine and other international needs, the administration is asking for roughly $24 billion. That total includes $9.5 billion "for equipment for Ukraine and replenishment of DOD stocks; and $3.6 billion for continued military, intelligence, and other defense support." The administration is also asking for $7.3 billion for economic, humanitarian, and security assistance to Ukraine and other impacted countries and populations.

Senior administration officials said this supplemental request is funding for the first quarter of 2024. They left the door open to future requests for aid to Ukraine if needed.

The administration is also seeking $4 billion for border and migration, $12 billion for the disaster relief fund and wildland firefighter pay.

Now that the administration has asked for supplemental funding, the ball is in Congress' court. Time is running out for lawmakers to act before existing U.S. aid for Ukraine runs dry. Per senior administration officials, existing funds could run out by the end of September.

But can a divided Congress actually approve this spending request?

Ukraine funding is going to face a much steeper resistance in Congress than any previous funding package has. Whether opposition from hard-line House Republicans can be overcome remains to be seen, and a looming government shutdown means Congress could be locking horns over this issue as soon as next month.

Ukraine funding has waned in popularity among some Republicans for months. There's a number of reasons for that, ranging from concern about lack of oversight for the funding to worries about draining US resources in service of foreign countries.

In a House vote last month, 70 House Republicans voted in favor of an amendment that would have stripped all funding for Ukraine. That's not enough to doom Thursday's request yet, but it signals a shifting priority for House Republicans.

Ukraine funding is also less popular with Americans, with 55% of Americans opposing authorizing additional funding to support Ukraine, according to a CNN poll released last week.