The Biden administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent Congress an emergency supplemental funding package request to aid Ukraine, Israel and the border crisis.
“Over the coming weeks, the Administration looks forward to continued engagement with members of both parties to reach a comprehensive, bipartisan agreement to fund the Government and invest in critical national priorities,” Director of OMB Shalanda Young said in the letter to Congress. “As part of that process, the Congress has an opportunity and obligation to advance our national security by addressing critical needs that should earn Bipartisan support.”
The administration is asking for a $105 billion in total, according to sources familiar.
SENATE PREPARES FOR BIDEN TO SEND SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING REQUEST WITH ISRAEL, UKRAINE AID
President Joe Biden arrives to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, on August 15, 2023. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
The request includes aid for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, aid to Israel in response to terrorist attacks by Hamas, and investment in 1,300 more border security agents to stop the flow of fentanyl as well as 1,600 more asylum officers to speed up asylum processing.
The request also requests funds to “cutting-edge” detection technology at the Southwest border and “investigative capabilities to prevent cartels from trafficking fentanyl into the United States.”
WHITE HOUSE NEGOTIATES COMBINED AID TO ISRAEL AND UKRAINE WITH SENATE
A view shows smoke in the Gaza Strip as seen from Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel October 18, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (REUTERS )
Humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza and support for Israeli defense, along with aid for Palestinian refugees in the West Bank and surrounding areas, is also outlined.
The letter stated that the U.S. has gathered a coalition of more than 50 countries providing aid to Ukraine, and that funding for the Eastern European nation — which was left out of the previous temporary spending package passed by Congress in September — cannot run out.
GOP SENATORS RAMP UP PUSH TO REFREEZE $6B IN IRANIAN FUNDS: ‘HAMAS IS JUST THE PUPPET’
Smoke rises after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a house in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7. (AP)
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“As Ukrainians wage a tough counteroffensive and as winter fast approaches, the world is watching what the Congress does next. It is important that we
continue to do everything we can to help Ukraine succeed on the battlefield and protect its people,” Young wrote. “As the President said, we cannot under any circumstances allow America’s support for Ukraine to be interrupted—we are the indispensable Nation in the world, let’s act like it.”
This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.
