11 months ago
The White House delivered a dire warning to congressional leaders Monday that time is running out for lawmakers to approve more assistance to Ukraine — sounding the alarm that Kyiv’s battlefield gains against Russia are at risk without more money.
In letters Monday to party leaders in the House and Senate, White House budget chief Shalanda Young warned that inaction before the end of the year on a new round of funding threatens to "kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield."
"I want to be clear: Without congressional action, by the end of the year we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for Ukraine and to provide equipment from U.S. military stocks," wrote Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget. "There is no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment. We are out of money — and nearly out of time."
Identical letters were sent to Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
It's the latest warning from top officials as the administration presses to get President Joe Biden’s $61.4 billion emergency funding request for Ukraine across the finish line. The proposal is part of a $106 billion supplemental package Biden sent lawmakers in October for additional funding for Ukraine, Israel, the Pacific and the U.S.-Mexico border.
The White House push also comes as the Senate nears a major vote on the aid package. Schumer plans to hold a vote on Biden’s proposal this week in the Senate.
But Republicans in the House and Senate have insisted that further Ukraine money be paired with border security policy changes. A failure to coalesce around border provisions could quickly stall the funding.
Opposition to further funding for Kyiv has grown among House Republicans, another factor Johnson must navigate. The Louisiana Republican has also advocated splitting up aid to Ukraine and Israel, while Schumer and McConnell are aiming to approve a single comprehensive funding package.
Lawmakers have just a few weeks to forge a deal and get it to Biden’s desk before the end of the year. If congressional leaders shelve Ukraine aid until January, a new aid package could become wrapped up in a government funding fight that is set to kick off in the new year. But Young argued Congress can’t wait that long to turn the spigot back on.
“This isn’t a next year problem,” she argued. “The time to help a democratic Ukraine fight against Russian aggression is right now. It is time for Congress to act."
As new funding has stalled on Capitol Hill, Young said that assistance to Ukraine has been depleted and weapons packages have been squeezed. Of previous tranches of Ukraine related funding lawmakers have approved, Young said that the Pentagon has used 97 percent of the $62.3 billion it had received as of mid-November, while the State Department has exhausted all of the $4.7 billion in security assistance money it was allocated.
"Already, our packages of security assistance have become smaller and the deliveries of aid have become more limited,” Young wrote. “If our assistance stops, it will cause significant issues for Ukraine."
Young reiterated the administration’s argument that assisting Ukraine’s military prevents a broader war that could draw the U.S. into direct conflict with Russia if Vladimir Putin succeeds and then attacks a NATO country.
The letter also hammers an argument Biden and senior leaders have increasingly made to sell the tens of billions of dollars in Ukraine and Israel funding: It bolsters the U.S. economy and creates jobs.
Much of the money Congress has approved for Ukraine has never left the U.S., instead going to replenish the military’s inventories of weapons and equipment that were sent to Kyiv. Biden touted the funding to buy American-made hardware in an Oval Office address in October making the case for Ukraine and Israel aid
Biden’s latest security funding request would direct more than $50 billion into the defense industry, Young said, name-checking several states where air defense systems, missiles and artillery rounds are built.
"While we cannot predict exactly which U.S companies will be awarded new contracts, we do know the funding will be used to acquire advanced capabilities to defend against attacks on civilians in Israel and Ukraine — for example, air defense systems built in Alabama, Texas, and Georgia and vital subcomponents sourced from nearly all 50 states,” Young said.
The majority of funding already approved by Congress, she said, has gone to bolster the American defense industrial base or to support military and intelligence operations.
"That has improved our own military readiness since DOD is buying new equipment to replace what we are sending Ukraine, jumpstarting and expanding production lines, and is supporting good-paying jobs in dozens of states across the country," Young wrote.
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