White House asks Congress for $6.4 billion for Ukraine crisis
The request included $2.9 billion in security and humanitarian assistance and $3.5 billion for the Department of Defense
The White House asked Congress on Friday to approve $6.4 billion in aid to address the humanitarian and security crisis in Ukraine after Russia invaded the country this week, Biden administration and congressional aides said.
"In a recent conversation with lawmakers, the administration identified the need for additional US 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.
The request included $2.9 billion in security and humanitarian assistance and $3.5 billion for the Department of Defense.
Congressional aides said the administration had made the request on Friday at a briefing for staff from congressional leadership offices and relevant committees, including the appropriations committees that set spending.
Congress, which is controlled by President Joe Biden's fellow Democrats, would consider the $2.9 billion in funding for the State Department and USAID as an emergency bill, with funding for the Pentagon considered later, congressional aides said.
The money would also cover the implementation and enforcement of the sanctions Biden is enacting to punish Russia for its aggression against Ukraine.
