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| Photo: Ting Shen/Bloomberg News |
The White House is asking Congress for $47.1 billion in emergency funding for Covid-19 and monkeypox and to back Ukraine in its war with Russia, as well as spending for natural disasters, according to administration officials.
Congress must vote on a spending bill by the end of September to avoid a partial government shutdown. Lawmakers are expected to use a stopgap funding measure that will maintain funding levels for the short term.
The White House is asking Congress to add the emergency funding on top of that, with about $22.4 billion for Covid-19 vaccines, testing programs, clinical trials and research; $4.5 billion to bolster efforts to fight monkeypox; and $6.5 billion to help areas of the country prepare for and recover from natural disasters.
The administration is also asking for $13.7 billion to continue supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia. The money would go to military and intelligence support, to help Kyiv continue operating its government, and to supply uranium to fuel U.S. nuclear reactors in the chance of a potential decrease in Russian supplies.
The emergency funds wouldn’t be paid for with new or shifted revenue, and would be new money that hasn’t been previously appropriated.
Senate Republican leadership didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the White House’s request for emergency funding. Spending bills require 60 votes, and in the 50-50 Senate at least 10 Republicans would need to back any bill that contained the administration’s request. --->READ MORE HERE
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| AP Photo/Hanna Arhirova |
President Joe Biden is asking Congress to provide more than $47 billion in emergency dollars that would go toward the war in Ukraine, the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing monkeypox outbreak and help for recent natural disasters in Kentucky and other states.
The request, which comes as lawmakers are preparing to return to Washington and fund the government, seeks $13.7 billion related to Ukraine, including money for equipment, intelligence support and direct budgetary support. Shalanda Young, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said that more than three-fourths of the $40 billion approved by Congress earlier this year has already been disbursed or committed.
“We have rallied the world to support the people of Ukraine as they defend their democracy and we cannot allow that support to Ukraine to run dry,” Young said in a blog post.
The White House request will play into congressional budget negotiations in the coming weeks as financing for federal agencies is set to run out Sept. 30. Both parties will be seeking to avoid a government shutdown in the weeks before the midterm elections, but they will have to work out differences over issues like the COVID-19 aid, which has been a sticking point for many months as the White House has said more money is needed for vaccines and testing and Republicans have pointed to the trillions that have already been approved.--->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
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