Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will testify before Congress on Tuesday, seeking to convince lawmakers that giving billions more dollars to Ukraine and Israel is in the best interests of the United States. United, despite budget deficits and continued disagreements over the administration’s policies toward both countries.
Biden called on Congress to allocate $106 billion to fund aid to Ukraine, Israel and US border security.
Biden stressed that support from American partners is vital to the country’s national security and requested $61.4 billion for Ukraine, about half of which will be spent in the United States to replenish weapons stockpiles.
Biden also requested $14.3 billion for Israel, $9 billion for humanitarian aid, including to Israel and the Gaza Strip, $13.6 billion to ensure U.S. border security and $4 billion to fund counter-efforts. China’s regional regions in Asia.
Congress has already approved $113 billion for Ukraine since the February 2022 Russian invasion, but Biden’s request for $24 billion in additional funding in August was not granted. The White House said less than $5.5 billion remained to provide U.S. weapons to Ukrainian troops.
Democrats and many Senate Republicans support Biden’s proposal to provide aid to Ukraine and Israel simultaneously.
“Now is the time to take swift and decisive action to prevent further casualties and impose real consequences on the tyrants terrorizing the people of Ukraine and Israel,” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday at the University of Louisville.
But House Republicans and some Senate Republicans oppose merging the two issues. Polls show support for aid to Ukraine is waning, and many Republicans, especially those closest to former President Donald Trump, oppose aid.
With a federal debt of $31.4 trillion, they question whether Washington should fund Ukraine’s war with Russia instead of supporting Israel or stepping up efforts to counter China’s growing influence.
The new speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, voted against aid to kyiv in the past. On Monday, he introduced a bill to provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel by cutting funding to the Internal Revenue Service, sparking a showdown with Senate Democrats.
Israel receives $3.8 billion annually in military aid from the United States.
