White House Asks Congress For $13.7B In Additional Ukraine-Related Funding

While the Biden administration prepares to deploy tens of thousands of IRS agents on average Americans, the White House just asked Congress to approve another $13.7 billion for Ukraine-related expenditures as part of a short-term funding bill.

The request is for $11.7 billion in additional ‘security and economic assistance’ for Ukraine(‘s oligarchs) which will surely be accounted for, and $2 billion to help shore up domestic energy supplies to offset impacts the war has had on global energy markets.

Of the $11.7 billion, $4.5 billion will go towards military equipment and replenishing Pentagon stockpiles, $2.7 billion will go towards ‘defense and intelligence’ for Ukraine, and $4.5 billion will go to budgetary support for Ukraine’s government.

Of the $2 billion, $1.5 of it will be for uranium to fuel nuclear reactors, and $500 million will go towards modernizing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

“We have rallied the world to support the people of Ukraine to defend their democracy and we simply cannot allow that support to Ukraine to run dry,” an administration official told reporters on Friday.

The White House says that the funds are needed to sustain the pace of aid to Ukraine for the first three months of fiscal year 2023, which begins at the start of October. The administration official said roughly three-fourths of the funds Congress has already approved for Ukraine have been spent or obligated.  

Congress on a bipartisan basis has approved over $53 billion in security, economic and humanitarian assistance to address Russia’s invasion of Ukraine this year. Biden signed the last package, totaling $40 billion, into law in May. At the time, the White House said it expected those funds to last through the end of the fiscal year. –The Hill

In order to fund the government on a short-term basis in order to allow lawmakers more time to reach an agreement on a larger package, Congress is expected to pass a continuing resolution – the duration of which will be up to them. It will need to be passed before the current fiscal year ends on Sept. 30 in order to avoid a government shutdown.

Meanwhile, in order to allocate even more funding for Ukraine, the White House is also asking Congress to authorize billions more in funding for the federal government’s COVID-19 pandemic response, as well as the response to Monkeypox and disaster relief efforts – a request which totals $4.71 billion according to The Hill.

Remember, we must all sacrifice.