Biden considering $137b funding request that includes Israel, Ukraine aid

WASHINGTON – US President Joe Biden may consider a supplemental request of about US$100 billion (S$137 billion) that would include defence aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, multiple sources familiar with the request told Reuters on Tuesday.

Mr Biden has been widely expected to ask Congress to pass a supplemental spending Bill within days, as Washington responds to

the deadly Oct 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants

while looking to continue to support Ukraine as

it grapples with a Russian invasion.

The news broke as Mr Biden prepared to depart for Tel Aviv and Amman to show support for Israel and also to meet leaders of Jordan and Egypt on the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

US Senate leaders had said on Tuesday they expected Mr Biden to send them a request by the end of this week for billions of dollars in assistance for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan and for security at the US border.

Two of the sources said the request was for a full year of funding, explaining the large size.

Administration officials have been working on the request for weeks.

Senator Ben Cardin, Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he had not yet seen a specific figure for the supplemental request, but he would not be surprised if it was as large as US$100 billion.

“I hope it’s enough to get us through 2024,” Mr Cardin told Reuters.

He thought it had a good chance of passing the Senate with support from both Mr Biden’s fellow Democrats and Republicans. “I think this is our best shot to get it done,” Mr Cardin said.

Israel asked for US$10b

However, there is uncertainty about the fate of any legislation in Congress, which under US law controls spending. The Republican-led House of Representatives has been without a Speaker and unable to pass legislation since

Mr Kevin McCarthy was ousted on Oct 3.

A congressional source familiar with the request said Israel had asked for US$10 billion, as it responds to an attack on its citizens by the Iran-backed militant group Hamas. Israel already receives US$3.8 billion a year from the United States, under a 10-year agreement that began in 2016.

Congress has already approved US$113 billion in security, humanitarian and economic assistance to Ukraine since Russian troops poured into its territory in February 2022.

Bloomberg first reported that Biden was considering making a US$100 billion request.

“We are going to do everything in our power to ensure the Senate delivers the support for Israel and the rest of the package. We intend to get the package the end of this week,” the Senate’s majority leader, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, told his weekly press conference.

Senator Mitch McConnell, the Chamber’s top Republican, expected the request to include assistance for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, and said Republicans want it to include “something serious” for the border.

Top Biden administration officials will hold a classified briefing on Wednesday for the Senate on the situation in Israel and Gaza. MeSchumer said Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, who faces charges of acting as an unregistered agent for Egypt, would not attend.

Menendez has denied wrongdoing. REUTERS