Biden administration seeks $105 billion in national security package that includes aid to Ukraine and Israel
Originally Published: 20 OCT 23 08:34 ET Updated: 20 OCT 23 11:30 ET By Donald Judd, Phil Mattingly and Priscilla Alvarez, CNN
(CNN) — The Biden administration is requesting more than $105 billion from Congress as part of a package it says will provide security assistance for conflicts in Ukraine and Israel while addressing “the global humanitarian impacts of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine and of Hamas’ horrific attacks on Israel, including by extending humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza.”
The request, the contours of which have been telegraphed to members of Congress in recent days, will also seek additional funding for the US-Mexico border and priorities in the Indo-Pacific region, two sources briefed on the details told CNN early Monday.
In a letter to Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young outlined the funding request, which in addition to $61.4 billion in aid for Ukraine and $14.3 billion in aid for Israel, includes $9.15 billion in funding for humanitarian aid, $7.4 billion in funding for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region and $13.6 billion to address security at the US-Mexico border.
“The world is watching and the American people rightly expect their leaders to come together and deliver on these priorities,” Young writes. “I urge Congress to address them as part of a comprehensive, bipartisan agreement in the weeks ahead.”
President Joe Biden made his own impassioned plea for the funding in a primetime Oval Office address to the nation Thursday, calling the moment “an inflection point” in American history.
“History has taught us that when terrorists don’t pay a price for their terror, when dictators don’t pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction. They keep going, and the cost and the threats to America and to the world keep rising,” Biden said, warning, “If we don’t stop Putin’s appetite for power and control in Ukraine, he won’t limit himself just to Ukraine.”
But the administration still faces challenges in securing the funding – both in selling it to the American public, where public support for Ukraine has lagged as the war has continued on, and to Congress, where the House of Representatives remains locked in a bitter standstill over a battle for the Speaker’s gavel.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer praised the package and said he would move quickly to pass it.
“This legislation is too important to wait for the House to settle their chaos. Senate Democrats will move expeditiously on this request, and we hope that our Republican colleagues across the aisle will join us to pass this much-needed funding,” he said.
Senate Republicans have signaled that they want solid changes to border policy included in the package, and it will likely have to be negotiated further. It also could be split into several bills.
Funding for Ukraine and Israel
Per a fact sheet shared with CNN ahead of Friday’s request, more than half of the funding allocated for Ukraine – $44.4 billion – will go to the Department of Defense to replenish stocks, which it says “will support the US industrial base,” and for “continued military, intelligence, and other defense support.”
The request allocates funds for the entirety of Fiscal Year 2024, a move the administration hopes will preempt the need for more frequent fights on Capitol Hill, where Ukraine funding has emerged as a wedge issue for Republicans in the House of Representatives.
Additionally, $10.6 billion of the request for Israel will go to the Pentagon for “air and missile defense support, industrial base investments, and replenishment of DOD stocks.”
Per the administration, much of that will go towards procurement of Iron Dome and David’s Sling missile defense systems and components, and development of the Iron Beam system to aid Israel’s defense against rocket attacks and to replenish DOD stocks already drawn down for support to Israel in the wake of the October 7th Hamas attack.
Both requests come after Biden spoke earlier this week with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and traveled to Israel, where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s war cabinet to assess Israel’s needs.
All told, more than $50 billion in funding will be invested directly into the American defense industrial base, the administration estimates.
On a call with reporters previewing the budget request Friday, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the request “invests in America as a critical component of President Biden’s foreign policy for the middle class – it will allow us to have more weapons and equipment that defend America to be made in America.”
“Taken together, this budget request is critical to advancing America’s national security and ensuring the safety of the American people,” he said.
Border Security
The White House’s border security supplemental ask – totaling around $14 billion – reflects the administration’s repeated requests for funding to bolster personnel along the US-Mexico border, provides funds to cities supporting asylum seekers and funds new initiatives aimed at stemming the flow of migration to the United States.
According to a breakdown released by the White House, the request includes resources for an additional 1,300 Border Patrol agents, as well as money to hire 1,000 Customs and Border Protection officers, 375 immigration judge teams – marking the largest incremental request – and 1,600 asylum officers. It also includes funds for more detention beds, which Republicans have sought and is likely to prompt pushback from Democrats.
The ask also includes $1.4 billion for shelter and services for migrants released from DHS custody who have moved to cities in the US while they go through their immigration proceedings and has become a source of tension between Democratic allies and the White House.
The administration previously asked for $4 billion in supplemental funding to address needs on the US-Mexico border. The new ask encompasses FY 2024, which is why it’s higher than the supplemental request submitted by the White House over the summer, according to a source familiar.
Uphill battle on Capitol Hill
Friday’s letter requesting the supplemental funding is addressed to Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry – a stark reminder that the House of Representatives is now in its third week without a speaker of the House as House Republicans struggle to coalesce behind a consensus leader for their conference.
Without a speaker, the House is unable to pass legislation, leaving the Biden administration’s request for funding in limbo while Republicans spar over their party’s leadership.
On Friday’s call, the OMB Director declined to say if the administration had a plan for how to address the logjam if the speaker’s battle continues to draw out on Capitol Hill.
“That is a matter for the House to work out,” Young told CNN. “What I will tell you is you heard the National Security Adviser lay out, you heard the president lay out last night what’s at stake here. It is the president’s job, our job is to make clear to Congress what the needs are and what happens if this critical funding is not delivered. So, we’re doing our job here by letting Congress know what the critical needs are and we expect them to act and act swiftly.”
In a Capitol Hill press conference Friday, Speaker designee Jim Jordan – who has failed to convince the necessary number of Republicans to back his bid – emphasized that electing a speaker was essential to getting “the appropriations process moving, so that the key elements of our government are funded.”
“And frankly, we can’t do that if the house isn’t open, and we can’t open the House until we get a Speaker,” he said.
The administration also teased additional funding requests “in coming days,” to address a number of domestic priorities, including funds to replenish FEMA’s emergency relief fund, nutritional assistance programs and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).
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