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…
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