Last week, the Biden administration requested $6.4 billion to respond to the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine, split between $2.9 billion for humanitarian assistance and $3.5 billion for military support. On Thursday, the White House increased the total request to $10 billion, with $4.8 billion going to the Department of Defense, $5 billion going to the State Department, and the rest divided among the Treasury, Commerce, Justice and Energy departments.
About $1.8 billion of the military aid would cover the cost of moving more U.S. troops to Europe, while $1.75 billion would be used to replace weapons and supplies provided to Ukraine. Another $500 million would go toward direct military assistance to Ukraine and NATO countries in eastern Europe.
The request is for “emergency” funding, which means that the money would be in addition to established budgets and not require any cuts in planned spending. The funds would be in addition to the $650 million in security aid already provided to Ukraine, we well as the $52 million in humanitarian aid and $1 billion in loan guarantees.
Lawmakers could potentially fulfill the request by adding it to the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill for fiscal year 2022, currently under debate in Congress and facing a March 11 deadline.
The White House said this week that the latest aid request probably won’t be its last. “Given the rapidly evolving situation in Ukraine, I anticipate that additional needs may arise over time,” Shalanda Young, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, told Congress Wednesday. “This funding request is based on the administration’s best information on resource requirements at this time, and we will remain in touch with the Congress in the coming weeks and months as we assess resource requirements beyond these immediate needs.”