The Biden administration is unveiling its mammoth supplemental funding request to provide aid to Israel, Ukraine, and the United States’ own southern border.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that the $105 billion request is necessary to ensure that the United States can meet the challenges of a “global inflection point.”
The request, he said, will enhance U.S. defense supply chains and create jobs for U.S. workers.
“This budget request also invests in America as a critical component of President Biden’s foreign policy for the middle class,” Mr. Sullivan said. “It will allow us to have more weapons and equipment that defend America to be made in America.”
The supplemental requests from Congress include more than $61 billion for aid to Ukraine, $14.3 billion for Israel, and $6.4 billion for operations on the United States’ southern border.
Weapons for Israel, Relief for Gaza
The funding package includes billions of dollars worth of additional security assistance to Israel in the wake of atrocities committed by the Hamas terror group on Oct. 7.
Mr. Sullivan said that the administration was catalyzed by the terror attacks, which were the deadliest assault on Jews since the Holocaust.
“Like all of you, President Biden was horrified by the terrorist attacks we saw Hamas commit,” Mr. Sullivan said.
“President Biden directed his team to take immediate action to do everything we could to ensure the government of Israel has what it needs to defend its nation and its people.”
The United States has already sent some pre-approved military aid to Israel, including munitions and interceptors to help it thwart further Hamas rocket attacks.
The new supplemental funding request seeks to expand upon that aid by providing further air and missile defense capabilities to Israel.
In all, the aid would allow for the Department of Defense (DoD) to allocate $10.6 billion to air and missile defense, to provide associated improvements to the U.S. industrial base, and to replenish the United States’ own dwindling stockpiles.
While much of the aid will go to Israel’s core defensive systems such as the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Iron Beam, other financing will be adaptable to Israel’s needs as its war with Hamas continues.
“We are requesting an increase in security assistance for Israel to help it protect its people, as well as the many Americans who live in Israel and travel to Israel,” Mr. Sullivan said.
“It will allow for us to acquire and provide more air and missile defense support, to make necessary industrial base investments, and increase our capacity to generate the types of systems that Israel needs to defend itself.”
The package also includes about $9 billion to provide humanitarian assistance to Israel, Ukraine, and war-torn Gaza.
Some Republicans in Congress have objected to sending humanitarian aid to Gaza out of concern that the Hamas terror group will steal the aid. However, Mr. Sullivan said that the United States has a responsibility to help alleviate the needless suffering of civilians there.
US Will Not Let Russia ‘Conquer’ Ukraine
The package also includes about $61 billion in Ukraine aid, of which $44.4 billion will pass through the DoD for the replenishment of stocks, supporting the U.S. industrial base, and providing intelligence support.Mr. Sullivan said that the continued support of Ukraine as it faces its second winter campaign is necessary to prevent a new surge of authoritarian aggression throughout the world.
“We have to send the unmistakable message that in the 21st century, a dictator cannot be allowed to conquer or carve up his neighbor,” Mr. Sullivan said.
“We know from history that if we walk away and let someone like Vladimir Putin erase Ukraine’s independence, he will not stop there, and would-be aggressors around the world would be emboldened.”
Proposed security assistance to Ukraine will continue to rely predominantly on presidential drawdown authorities, meaning that the weapons will be transferred directly from U.S. stockpiles to Ukraine, with the money then used to restore U.S. capabilities.
The proposed funds will also support the United States’ continued enhanced posture in Europe, which has been ongoing for the past 18 months in response to the war in Ukraine.
Notably, the aid request also includes $149 million to enhance and expand incident response capabilities in the event of a nuclear or radiological incident.
As with Israel, Mr. Sullivan said, specific weapons systems wouldn’t be allocated ahead of time but provided as the situation in Ukraine evolves. This could mean the introduction of new capabilities to Ukraine.
“This supplemental does not specifically answer the question as to which weapon systems will be provided to Ukraine in terms of additional capacities that haven’t been provided,” Mr. Sullivan said.
Initiatives Included to Secure Southern Border
At Republicans’ insistence, the supplemental funding request also includes a total of $13.6 billion to help secure the U.S. southern border, prevent illegal migration, and counter the rise in drug trafficking.That amount includes funding for DNA testing at the border, the hiring of additional border patrol agents, more shelters for migrants, and fentanyl testing, as well as aid for programs that work with foreign governments to prevent trafficking and repatriate migrants who entered or remained in the country illegally.
The funding allows for the hiring of thousands of new U.S. government workers in immigration-related positions, including 1,300 border patrol agents, 1,000 law enforcement personnel, and 1,600 asylum officers.
There are some proposals that may be met with resistance in a Congress bitterly divided over the security of the southern border, however.
Among them are funds to provide services to eligible migrants to help them settle in the United States and millions of dollars that will actually need to be paid directly to the DoD for providing support to the understaffed Department of Homeland Security.
