Biden administration has called on the US Congress to pass US President Biden’s request, which includes support for Ukraine and Israel in one assistance package, John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, said during a meeting with journalists on 1 November, Ukrinform reported.
John Kirby said that US President Joe Biden insists that funds for the security of the US southern border and assistance to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan should be included in one package.
“We urge Congress to continue working on the entire package of additional needs submitted by the US President, with all four areas (of funding – ed.), which obviously include Ukraine and Israel together,” John Kirby said.
The Republican leadership in the US Senate supports the package that allocates funds for assistance to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, John Kirby noted.
“You heard the minority leader, Senator Mitchell McConnell, say that he fully agrees that all of them (funding areas – ed.) should be combined in the way the president has presented them and that the situation in Ukraine and Israel is interconnected and serious. And we certainly agree with that,” John Kirby said.
Earlier in October, US President Joe Biden requested US Congress to allocate almost $105 billion to support the security needs of Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and the US southern border.
The most significant request in this package amounted to more than $61 billion in military aid for Ukraine. The Biden Administration also called for additional aid worth $14.3 billion for Israel, an assistance package worth $2 billion for Taiwan, and over $9 billion for humanitarian aid.
However, the newly elected Speaker of the House, Republican Mike Johnson, said last week that the assistance to Ukraine and Israel must be divided and included in separate bills.
On 30 October, Republicans in the US House of Representatives introduced a bill to provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel separately from Ukraine.
On 31 October, John Kirby said that US President Joe Biden could veto the US budget bill if the budget does not include funds for assistance to Ukraine.
Related:
- Ukraine aid a sticking point in US budget bill
- Biden asks Congress for $105 billion to support Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan
- Supporting Israel and Ukraine is vital to US security, Biden says
