Biden wants $105 billion for wars, humanitarian aid. Can he get it?

By James On Oct 20, 2023

On October 20, the White House released a sweeping set of proposals to strengthen Israel and Ukraine amid two wars, and to increase investment in domestic defense production, humanitarian aid and managing the flow of migrants at the U.S. border and Mexico. .

The total cost of the additional funding request was estimated at just over $105 billion. President Joe Biden hopes Congress will take urgent action on the legislation, and he called for deepening U.S. support for its allies during a rare Oval Office address on the night of Oct. 19.

The Democratic president’s plan faces some immediate complications on Capitol Hill. The House of Representatives is at a standstill and unable to pass legislation as the Republican majority struggles to elect a new speaker. The House could also become bogged down in a divided Senate, where some Republicans want to add additional border policies to the measure.

But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said he would advance Biden’s proposals as soon as possible.

“This legislation is too important to wait for the House to resolve the chaos,” he said. “Senate Democrats will quickly grant this request, and we hope our Republican colleagues across the aisle will join us in passing this much-needed funding.”

Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters on Friday that Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and Hamas’ attack on Israel represent a “global turning point.”

“This budget request is critical to advancing America’s national security and ensuring the safety of the American people,” Mr. Sullivan said.

The largest component of the additional funding request is $61.4 billion in support of Ukraine. Some of that money will go toward replenishing the Pentagon’s already delivered weapons stockpiles.

Ukraine has struggled to make progress in a grueling counter-offensive, and the White House has warned that Russia could gain ground if the US does not send more weapons and ammunition to the conflict.

“The world is watching closely to see what Congress does next,” Mr. Sullivan said.

Israel would receive $14.3 billion in aid under the proposal. Most of that money would help with air and missile defense systems, according to the White House.

Some Republicans in both the House of Representatives and the Senate are wary of linking Ukraine and Israel financing.

Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, said the president’s proposal was discussed Friday during a closed-door meeting of his state’s Republican delegation.

“You cannot put the two together,” he said, describing Israel as “our forever friend.”

Mr. Williams said Mr. Biden’s proposal is “a little bit troubling” because “he knows he can’t get it done without Israel.”

The response is indicative of how Biden’s decision to bring together different issues in hopes of broadening the potential political coalition to guarantee passage of the legislation could also lead to derailment.

Debates over immigration are likely to be the thorniest as Republicans seek to strengthen enforcement. Some Republicans have said they won’t support the measure unless new policies are added, and it’s unclear so far whether the money Biden is asking for would be enough. A group of Republican senators met on October 19 to discuss possible proposals they would support.

Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, suggested it would be hypocritical for them to oppose Mr. Biden’s proposal after complaining about lax border management.

“We will not be lectured by those who refuse to act,” she said. “As we have said repeatedly, Congress must take action to provide adequate resources for the border.”

Although there was a lull in migrant arrivals in the US after new asylum restrictions began in May, illegal border crossings exceeded a daily average of more than 8,000 last month.

The White House wants about $14 billion to increase the number of border agents, install new inspection machines to detect fentanyl and expand staffing to process asylum cases, among other things.

Senator Bill Hagerty, a Republican from Tennessee, said it is madness to provide the government with “more money to fuel its disastrous resettlement operation along the open borders.”

“It would worsen the border crisis, not stop it,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Mr Biden’s funding request includes $7.4 billion for a variety of initiatives focused on the Indo-Pacific, where the US is focused on countering China’s influence. The money will be distributed across joint security initiatives in the region, boosting submarine production as part of a partnership with Australia and developing financing programs for countries that would otherwise be dependent on Beijing.