US President Joe Biden is asking the US Congress to provide more than US$47 billion in emergency funding 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 US lawmakers are preparing to return to Washington and fund the government, seeks US$13.7 billion related to Ukraine, including money for equipment, intelligence support and direct budgetary support.
White House Office of Management and Budget Director-general Shalanda Young said more than three-fourths of the US$40 billion approved by Congress earlier this year had been disbursed or committed.
Photo: AP
“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 would play into congressional budget negotiations in the coming weeks as financing for federal agencies is set to run out on Sept. 30.
Democrats and Republican lawmakers are expected to try to avoid a government shutdown in the weeks before the US midterm elections, but they would have to work out differences over issues including 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.
In Friday’s request, the White House is seeking US$7.1 billion to procure additional vaccines and for replenishing personal protective equipment in the US Strategic National Stockpile, among other measures.
Another US$8 billion would go to accelerate research for next-generation COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics.
Biden is also seeking US$2 billion to continue COVID-19 testing programs, including an initiative to distribute free at-home tests that ended on Friday, as the White House said it is running short on funds.
White House officials have said some tests are left in the stockpile, but not enough to provide free tests if cases increase sharply.
Congress has not moved forward on similar administration requests for the COVID-19 response amid the partisan stalemate.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the White House has repeatedly warned that there would be trade-offs if that money was not approved, and “that is precisely what happened.”
The lack of free testing kits “leaves our domestic testing capacity diminished for a potential fall surge,” she said.
Biden is also seeking US$4.5 billion to bolster efforts to fight monkeypox amid the ongoing outbreak.
Officials said they have depleted significant reserves from the national stockpile to provide million 1.1 million vials of monkeypox vaccine.
The funding would help ensure access to vaccinations, testing and treatment, and also help fund the global effort to fight the disease, administration officials said.
For disaster relief, the White House is asking for US$6.5 billion, including money for the US Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund, farmers affected by weather events and efforts to increase the resilience of the country’s electric grid.
As part of that request, the administration is also asking for US$1.4 billion to address unmet disaster recovery needs in several states, including for devastating floods in Kentucky.
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