WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Officials in Washington are working to secure approval for additional assistance for Kyiv after a last-minute spending agreement prevented a U.S. government shutdown.
The Senate, controlled by President Joe Biden’s fellow Democrats, plans to pass legislation in the coming weeks to ensure continued support for Ukraine in terms of security and economic aid.
However, in the Republican-led House of Representatives, Speaker Kevin McCarthy has requested more information from the Biden administration. A Republican advocating for McCarthy’s removal accused him of making a “secret deal” with Biden to allow the House to vote on a bill.
Since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, the U.S. has provided the Kyiv government with $113 billion in aid for security, economic, and humanitarian purposes. In July, President Biden asked Congress to approve an additional $24 billion for Ukraine, which had bipartisan support.
As of Monday, the Defense Department has $1.6 billion remaining to replace weapons sent to Ukraine. The Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) has no remaining funds, and there is $5.4 billion worth of Presidential Drawdown Authority available.
Congress passed a stopgap funding bill on Saturday, avoiding deep cuts in domestic aid programs demanded by Republican hardliners. However, the bill did not include additional assistance for Ukraine, which some Republicans in both chambers opposed.
Opponents of Ukraine aid, including allies of former President Donald Trump, continue to criticize assistance for Kyiv. Representative Matt Gaetz, who aims to remove McCarthy as speaker, accused McCarthy of reaching a “secret deal” with Biden for Ukraine aid.
McCarthy denied the accusation and called for a briefing from the administration to address members’ concerns about accountability provisions for the money allocated to Ukraine.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre urged Congress to act swiftly and emphasized the continuous support for Ukraine. She stated that another aid package will be provided soon to show support for the people of Ukraine and counter Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In a letter to McCarthy, Department of Defense Comptroller Michael McCord expressed concern about the lack of security assistance for Ukraine in the stopgap spending bill. McCord highlighted the impact on U.S. congressional districts, mentioning the job and production benefits in Tucson, Arizona, and Lockheed Martin’s facilities in Camden, Arkansas.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that Kyiv is engaged in talks with both Democrats and Republicans in Congress. He framed the drama surrounding the stopgap bill as an incident rather than a systemic issue.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Additional reporting by Mike Stone, Moira Warburton, Makini Brice, and Steve Holland; Editing by Don Durfee and Alison Williams)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
