Biden wants $20.6B more for Ukraine — and $3.9B for migrant, fentanyl crises
WASHINGTON — President Biden is asking Congress to approve another $20.6 billion to support Ukraine in its war against Russia, despite mounting public opposition — more than five times the $3.9 billion he wants for US border security, migrant processing and anti-fentanyl efforts.
The new funding requests were announced Thursday ahead of an anticipated budget showdown in late September, when House GOP conservatives are expected to demand cuts in exchange for avoiding a partial government shutdown.
At least some of the border-related funds would help sponsor care for migrants released at the US-Mexico frontier following New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ increasingly frustrated pleas for federal help.
The Ukraine request follows $113 billion in congressional appropriations last year to support the war-torn Eastern European country.
The scope of the Ukraine-specific supplemental request was not immediately clear. The Associated Press reported that Biden would seek “$13 billion in emergency aid to Ukraine,” but the White House budget office later clarified the amount was higher.
A budget official told The Post that Ukraine-specific requests total $20.6 billion.
“The president has reaffirmed that we will stand with Ukraine as it defends its sovereignty for as long as it takes,” a Biden administration official said on a press call.
Charts provided to the press showed $24 billion in US requests for Ukraine conflict spending and other international objectives — including $9.5 billion for equipment for Ukraine and replenishment of US stockpiles, $3.6 billion in military and intelligence support for Ukraine and $7.3 billion for economic, humanitarian and other financial assistance to Ukraine and neighboring countries.
The funds would be dispersed in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, which begins Oct. 1, officials said.
The international spending request includes $3.3 billion in foreign financing programs, $100 million for Ukrainian refugees entering the US and $68 million for Ukrainian nuclear and radiological crisis management efforts.
Another $200 million is requested to support African countries where the Russian Wagner Group’s mercenaries operate.
The fentanyl and migration-focused requests were much smaller, despite record-high numbers crossing the US-Mexico border — a large share of whom have been allowed to await asylum court verdicts in the US — and record-high overdose deaths caused by fentanyl that’s largely smuggled from Mexico.
Nearly 1.79 million migrants have been apprehended after illegally crossing the US-Mexico border since Oct. 1, 2022, compared to almost 1.75 million during the same period in the record-breaking prior year.
Fentanyl, meanwhile, has become the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49.
In 2022, fentanyl and related compounds killed an estimated 75,000 Americans — an all-time record — after killing 71,000 Americans in 2021, a jump from roughly 58,000 in 2020, more than 36,000 in 2019 and about 31,000 in 2018.
The border and migration funding request includes $2.2 billion for “border management operations, shelter and services for migrants released from DHS custody, and DOD support,” according to a White House chart.
Another $416 million would go toward anti-fentanyl efforts on the border including “non-intrusive inspection” technology, with $800 million for the State Department and USAID to open migrant-screening centers overseas, $350 million for anti-fentanyl programs including “prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery support,” $100 million for child labor investigations among exploited underage migrants, and $59 million for the Justice Department for new immigration judges and anti-fentanyl efforts.
Biden also is seeking $12 billion for domestic disaster relief for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif) has signaled he will call separate votes on a dozen government-funding bills — rather than put them all into a must-pass omnibus bill, as has been done in the past.
McCarthy said in June that a Senate push to boost Ukraine aid was “not going anywhere,” though the House speaker has supported past aid to Kyiv to fight off Russia’s nearly 18-month-old invasion.
It was not immediately clear whether Biden’s supplemental requests will be considered separately or rolled into a larger bill.
The billions in US support for Ukraine have become increasingly controversial and the supplemental request will be the first major legislative test this year — after hulking packages sailed through Congress in 2022, allowing for gradual drawdowns by the administration.
A CNN poll released last week found that 55% of Americans oppose Congress approving additional aid for Ukraine — including 71% of Republicans, 55% of independents and 38% of Democrats.
The poll found that women (59%) are most likely to oppose additional congressional funding for Ukraine, with 58% of non-white Americans also against more support.
However, other polls indicate nuanced or fluctuating public stances.
The Pew Research Center found in June that 28% of Americans felt the US was giving “too much” to Ukraine, 31% felt the US contribution was “about right” and 16% thought there was “not enough” given.
Reuters/Ipsos recently recorded sharp swings in American sentiments.
A poll in late June — days after mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed coup in Russia — found that 65% of Americans backed US arms donations to Kyiv, up sharply from 46% in May.
