Biden administration seeks $105 billion in national security package that includes aid to Ukraine and Israel
(CNN) — The Biden administration on Friday will request $105 billion from Congress as part of a package that will include aid and resources for Ukraine and Israel in their wars, two sources briefed on the details tell CNN.
Posted — UpdatedThe 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, priorities in the Indo-Pacific region and humanitarian aid.
The administration is seeking $60 billion for Ukraine in line with an annual appropriation to continue US aid to the war-torn country as it defends itself from Russia’s invasion. The administration hopes the request 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. The Biden administration in August delivered its last so-called supplemental funding request, which included $24.1 billion to aid Ukraine through the end of the year, but Congress failed to approve it during a process to greenlight short-term federal funding.
For Israel, the administration is seeking $14 billion, which officials say reflects requests Biden received while traveling to the region on Wednesday.
CNN reported Thursday evening that the administration had informed lawmakers it planned to seek $14 billion for border security in its new funding package, a marked increase from the previous ask, according to a source familiar.
An additional $10 billion will be earmarked for humanitarian aid, while $7 billion will go to the Indo-Pacific and Taiwan, a bipartisan priority for Congress.
The full breakdown of the request:
$60 billion in funding to Ukraine
$14 billion to Israel
$10 billion in humanitarian aid to Ukraine and around the world
$14 billion for border funding to address drug trafficking and fentanyl
$7 billion for the Indo-Pacific and Taiwan
It’s unclear how the package will be received in the House of Representatives as Republicans are still struggling to coalesce behind a candidate for speaker, and as there have been strong divisions within the Republican conference around providing more aid to Ukraine.
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