Shalanda Young, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, spoke at a February 1 hearing of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs in Washington, DC. (Al Drago / Bloomberg / Getty Images)
The White House has asked lawmakers to approve $ 10 billion in lethal and humanitarian aid to Ukraine as part of a $ 32.5 billion emergency funding request sent to Capitol Hill as Russia continues to advance against Ukraine.
The request was followed by weeks of discussions between White House officials and the legislature over the form of any potential emergency request, which was expected to focus heavily on the needs of Covid-19. But the escalating Russian invasion has dramatically increased the size of the demand specifically for Ukraine.
Lawmakers are in the midst of negotiating a long-term financing deal and face a March 11 deadline to reach an agreement.
Ukraine’s funds are expected to be attached to each final deal, but the process remains fluid.
“This request identifies an immediate need for $ 10.0 billion in additional humanitarian, security and economic assistance to Ukraine and Central European partners due to the unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Russia,” the official request was made Wednesday by the acting director of the Office of Management and Shalanda Young’s budget to the Congressional leadership says.
Young suggested that the initial $ 10 billion request for Ukraine would meet “immediate needs” and more funding could be needed.
“Given the rapidly evolving situation in Ukraine, I expect that additional needs may arise over time. “This request for funding is based on the administration’s best information on resource needs so far, and we will stay in touch with Congress in the coming weeks and months as we assess resource needs beyond those immediate needs,” she said.
More about the funding application: The detailed request provides $ 4.8 billion to the Department of Defense, including $ 1.8 billion to support the region as U.S. troops support European Command and the NATO Response Force, $ 1.3 billion for cybersecurity and more. defense support and $ 1.8 billion to replenish DOD stocks. He also called for $ 5 billion for the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), including $ 2.8 billion in humanitarian aid such as food and other support, $ 500 million in military aid through the Foreign Military Funding Program and $ 1 billion. $ 8 billion in economic aid to help “maintain the continuity of government and resilience of the Ukrainian people, as well as the urgent needs of the region.”
The request also provides $ 21 million to the Department of Commerce to strengthen export controls, $ 30 million to the Department of Energy to provide “technical assistance for grid integration,” $ 59 million to the Department of Justice to support the newly announced job. the KleptoCapture group for imposing sanctions on Russia and other funding for the Multinational Working Group and $ 91 million for the Treasury Department to support sanctions and criminal investigations by the IRS, among other expenses.