Russia’s war in Ukraine

The Biden administration is calling on the US Congress to include additional funding in the must-pass government package for what it said are three “critical funding needs,” which includes support for Ukraine.

Congress returned for a lame-duck session on Monday and has a short work period in which to pass a critical bill to fund the government by Dec. 16.

Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi detailing a $37.7 billion request for Ukraine aid, $10 billion for Covid-19 and an unspecified amount for disaster relief.

The $37.7 billion Ukraine request is spread across four US government departments, according to a fact sheet shared with CNN.

Young wrote to Pelosi that the request would “ensure Ukraine has the funding, weapons, and support it needs to defend itself, and that vulnerable people continue to receive lifesaving aid. The request also addresses the critical global food and energy shortages caused by Russia’s invasion.”

It includes $21.7 for the Department of Defense that will be spent on “equipment for Ukraine, replenishment of Department of Defense stocks, and for continued military, intelligence and other defense support,” $14.5 billion for the State Department for “direct budget support to Ukraine, critical war time investments, security assistance, to strengthen global food security, and for humanitarian assistance,” $626 million for the Department of Energy “for nuclear security support to Ukraine and for modernizing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve,” and $900 million for the Department of Health and Human Services “to provide standard assistance health care and support services to Ukrainian parolees,” per the fact sheet.  

A senior administration official told reporters that previous aid for Ukraine “was always intended to last only through the end of this calendar year,” with Young writing to Pelosi that “roughly three-quarters of the funds previously provided by the Congress have been disbursed or committed, with even more expected by the end of the year.”

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