House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced that Congress will provide Ukraine with any economic assistance it needs to defend itself amid the ongoing invasion.
“We’ll have to see what the need is and whatever it is, we’ll support it,” Pelosi told reporters. “We’ll see what the president sends down.”
“We can’t vote until we have a number,” she said. “We’ll see what the president has to say tomorrow night” during his State of the Union address.”
The Biden administration has requested $6.4 billion in new spending to bolster Ukraine’s military defense apparatus and to address the mounting humanitarian crisis that erupted as thousands of Ukrainians became refugees overnight.
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The request included $2.9 billion in security and humanitarian assistance and $3.5 billion for the Department of Defense.
“In a recent conversation with lawmakers, the administration identified the need for additional U.S. humanitarian, security, and economic assistance to Ukraine and Central European partners due to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion,” an official from the White House Office of Management and Budget said.
Ahead of the Biden administration’s request, Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) stressed that he is “very confident that both parties understand the importance of providing assistance to Ukraine and to our NATO allies.”
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.
