Democrats in Congress plan to move quickly on $39.8 billion in emergency aid to Ukraine.
Top congressional Democrats plan to move quickly this week to consider a $39.8 billion package of emergency military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, adding substantially to President Biden’s request for a major infusion of American funds for the war against Russia.
The measure, which House leaders want to bring up as soon as Tuesday, would be about $7 billion larger than the $33 billion Mr. Biden asked for this month to help Kyiv as it battles the ongoing Russian invasion.
With Republicans pushing to add more military spending, Democrats insisted on an equal boost for humanitarian aid, nudging the price tag to $39.8 billion, according to two people familiar with the proposal who previewed it on the condition of anonymity.
Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California and the House speaker, and Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, spoke by phone with Mr. Biden on Monday as they finalized the details of the proposal, one of the people said.
“I am pleased that, in my conversations with congressional leaders, there appears to be strong support for the proposal I submitted, and Congress is likely to pass it in substantially the form I proposed,” Mr. Biden said in a statement Monday afternoon. “I urge them to do so, and again, I urge them to do so quickly.”
It was not clear whether Republicans, whose support would be needed to move it forward in the Senate, had agreed to the proposal. A spokeswoman for Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee said that an agreement had not yet been reached, but that discussions were ongoing.
Democrats are planning to advance the package separately from an emergency coronavirus aid measure that the administration has also requested, which has become snarled in an election-year dispute over immigration restrictions at the southern border. In his statement, Mr. Biden said congressional leaders in both parties had told him that the inclusion of the pandemic response funds “would slow down action on the urgently needed Ukrainian aid — a view expressed strongly by several congressional Republicans.”
“We cannot afford delay in this vital war effort,” he said. “Hence, I am prepared to accept that these two measures move separately, so that the Ukrainian aid bill can get to my desk right away.”
The proposed increase reflects a striking consensus in both political parties to pour huge amounts of money into the war against Russia, even at a time when lawmakers are deeply divided on domestic spending. Congress in March approved $13.6 billion in emergency aid for Ukraine, and Mr. Biden has repeatedly warned that those resources would run out soon without new legislation.
In his statement on Monday, Mr. Biden said he would not give up on pursuing additional coronavirus aid, even as he agreed it should move separately from the Ukraine aid package.
“As vital as it is to help Ukraine combat Russian aggression, it is equally vital to help Americans combat Covid,” he said.
Lawmakers have already slashed his initial request to $10 billion, as Republicans insisted that any new coronavirus aid must be paid for. Republican senators have also demanded a vote on extending Title 42, a public health rule restricting immigration that the Biden administration plans to lift this month, as a condition of considering the pandemic package.
Some Democrats are resisting such a vote, which would divide their party, leaving the coronavirus aid stalled.
Bron: nytimes