The administration of US President Joseph Biden is asking the US Congress to allocate additional security and economic assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $11.7 billion, as well as $2 billion in domestic energy supplies to offset the impact of the war on the global energy market, writes in Friday the American edition of The Hill.
“We have rallied the world to support the people of Ukraine and defend our democracy, and we simply cannot let that support for Ukraine dry up,” an unnamed administration official told reporters.
Specifically, the White House is asking Congress to approve $4.5 billion for military equipment and Pentagon resupply, $2.7 billion for defense and intelligence assistance for Ukraine, and $4.5 billion for budgetary support for the government of Ukraine.
The $2 billion request to support domestic energy sources is distributed as follows: $1.5 billion for fuel for nuclear reactors and $500 million for the modernization of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
The White House says the funds are needed to maintain the pace of assistance to Ukraine during the first three months of fiscal year 2023, which begins in early October. An administration official said roughly three-quarters of the funds previously approved by Congress for Ukraine had already been spent or disbursed.
The publication recalls that Congress, on a bipartisan basis, has already approved the allocation of more than $53 billion in security, economic and humanitarian assistance to counter the Russian invasion of Ukraine this year. The White House expects that these funds will be enough until the end of the fiscal year.
Both parties support sending aid to Ukraine as it battles more than six months of attacks from Russia, although it is possible that at least some Republicans will doubt the latest funding request.
In addition to increased funding for Ukraine, the White House is also asking Congress to authorize additional billions to fund the federal government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, monkeypox response, and disaster relief. The emergency funding request is $47.1 billion.
