Biden confirms he’s seeking 4X more for Ukraine than Israel in joint request
[ad_1]
WASHINGTON — President Biden’s staff confirmed Friday that he is asking Congress for much greater aid to Ukraine by hitching it to a smaller and more popular spending request for Israel after Hamas terrorists slaughtered 1,400 people in a surprise attack this month.
Biden on Thursday night used his second primetime Oval Office address since taking office to urge passage of the combined package, which the White House confirmed Friday morning would be $14.3 billion for Israel — just a quarter of the $61.4 billion he’s seeking for Ukraine.
Another $30.1 billion would go to various other projects, bringing the total to nearly $106 billion.
The smaller requests include $9.15 billion in humanitarian aid, of which Biden’s aides said a yet-to-be-determined amount would go to aid Palestinian civilians affected by Israel’s expected invasion of Gaza, where about 200 hostages including some Americans remain held by Hamas.
Polls show growing public opposition to Ukraine aid and Biden’s attempt to hitch the two large requests drew criticism this week from Senate Republicans who said they wanted quick approval of Israel aid and a more circumspect approach toward further aid to Ukraine.
Congress did not approve Biden’s request in August for $20.6 billion for Ukraine, after legislators previously approved $113 billion to counter Russia’s stalled February 2022 invasion.
Follow along with The Post’s live blog for the latest on Hamas’ attack on Israel
The Biden administration is still disbursing already-approved funds but says they could run out soon.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and budget director Shalanda Young didn’t address the large gap in funding requests between Israel and Ukraine during a press call.
Although Biden argued Thursday night that the spending was needed to prevent even worse regional wars, Sullivan and Young also pitched the spending was important for the US economy by bolstering arms manufacturers — an argument that may be designed to address concern about the US national debt after the annual deficit hit a non-pandemic record in fiscal 2023, which ended Sept. 30.
“The supplemental request invests over $50 billion in the American defense industrial base, ensuring our military continues to be the most ready, capable, and best-equipped fighting force the world,” Young said.
Sullivan added, “The work we’re doing to increase our military-industrial base by manufacturing more artillery shells, Patriot missile and more is supporting jobs across the country.”
Young ducked a reporter’s question about how much of the humanitarian aid would go to Palestinians — after Biden this week pledged $100 million to residents of Gaza and the West Bank impacted by the conflict.
Follow along with The Post’s coverage of Israel’s war with Hamas
A White House spreadsheet says Biden’s Israel request includes $10.6 billion for “air and missile defense support, industrial base investments and replenishment of DOD stocks” and “$3.7 billion for the State Department, including foreign military financing and embassy support.”
Sullivan declined to specify in greater detail what weapons are being requested.
The Ukraine request includes $30 billion for “equipment for Ukraine and replenishment of DOD stocks,” $14.4 billion “for continued military, intelligence, and other defense support,” $16.3 billion “for the State Department and USAID for economic, security and operational assistance,” $481 million to support Ukrainians migrating to the US and $149 million for “nuclear/radiological incident response.”
Smaller requests appear designed to bolster support for the overall package, including $3.4 billion for America’s “submarine industrial base,” which is a significant employer in certain congressional districts.
Other more minor requests include $2 billion for the Treasury Department to “provide a credible alternative” to Chinese financing in other countries, $2 billion for State Department military financing for countries that border the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and $13.6 billion for the US border and migration operations including $1.9 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services to support admitted migrants, $1.4 billion for state and local governments to provide “shelter and services for migrants released from DHS custody” and $1.4 billion for more immigration judges.
[ad_2]
Source link
