American budget | Joe Biden assures Ukraine of his support

(Washington) President Joe Biden said Sunday that U.S. aid to Ukraine would continue to flow for now as he sought to reassure allies of continued U.S. financial support for the war effort . But time is running out, the president said in a warning to Congress.

“Under no circumstances can we allow American action on behalf of Ukraine to be disrupted,” Mr. Biden said in a speech from the Roosevelt Room, after Congress voted Saturday evening to avoid a temporary cessation of government activities by adopting a short-term financing program that cut off aid to Ukraine in the fight against Russia.

“We don’t have a lot of time and there is an overwhelming sense of urgency,” he added, urging Congress to negotiate a relief package as soon as possible.

Foreign aid or the domestic budget?

Many lawmakers acknowledge that it is becoming increasingly difficult to gain congressional approval to extend aid to Ukraine as the war continues.

The House vote last week highlighted potential problems ahead. Nearly half of House Republicans voted to cut $300 million from a defense spending bill aimed at training Ukrainian soldiers and buying weapons.

Then, on Saturday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, denied additional aid to Ukraine in a move aimed at keeping the government in office until November 17. In doing so, he closed the door to a Senate initiative that would have sent $6 billion to Ukraine, about a third of what the White House requested.

The House and Senate overwhelmingly approved the stopgap measure, with members of both parties abandoning increased aid to Ukraine to avoid an imminent government shutdown for financial reasons.

Mr. Biden said the deal was made to keep the government running and he sought to reassure U.S. allies that additional funds would be available.

“We will achieve this. I cannot believe that those who voted for Ukraine — an overwhelming majority in the House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans — will, for purely political reasons, allow more people to die needlessly in Ukraine,” he said. He wishes.

Concerns

Foreign allies were surprised and worried. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Sunday from Kyiv that he believed it would not be the final word on U.S. funding, but he noted the EU’s continued substantial financial support to Ukraine and a new proposal for additional financing on the table.

“I hope that this will not be a final decision and that Ukraine will continue to benefit from the support of the United States,” Mr. Borrell said.

Congress’ latest actions demonstrate a gradual shift in the steadfast support the United States has thus far given Ukraine in its fight against Russia, and constitute one of the clearest examples yet of the evolution of the Republican Party towards a more isolationist position.

The exclusion of Ukraine funding came just over a week after lawmakers met on Capitol Hill with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who sought to assure lawmakers that his military was winning the war but stressed that a Additional help would be crucial to continuing the fight.

The United States approved four rounds of aid to Ukraine in response to the Russian invasion, totaling about $113 billion, with some of that money going toward restocking U.S. military equipment sent to the lines. head on. In August, Joe Biden called on Congress to provide an additional 24 billion.