Biden to send ‘urgent’ budget request for Ukraine, Israel aid to Congress

EDITOR’S NOTE: On Friday morning the White House published a letter to lawmakers in which is made the funding request. Click here [PDF] to read it and see additional details.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden told the nation today he plans to send an “urgent budget request” to Congress Friday, reportedly asking for more than $100 billion, primarily to support “critical partners” Israel and Ukraine.

“It is a smart investment that’s going to pay dividends for American security for generations,” Biden said, “help us keep American troops out of harm’s way, help us build a world that’s safer, more peaceful, more prosperous for our children and grandchildren.”

In his 14-minute address this evening the president didn’t say how much money he would be asking for, but The New York Times reported the request would include $60 billion for Ukrainian defense, $14 billion for security assistance for Israel, around $7 billion for security aid to the Indo-Pacific and $10 billion for humanitarian assistance for those in conflict zones. It will also include another $14 billion for US border security — likely an attempt to entice Republicans skeptical of giving more aid to Ukraine to back the package. (Whether any package can get through Congress, which continues to struggle to find a speaker of the house remains to be seen.)

The money for Ukraine, Biden said in his address, is so the US can “continue to send the weapons they need to defend themselves and their country without interruption, so Ukraine can stop Putin’s brutality in Ukraine.”

Funds destined for Jerusalem represented an “unprecedented commitment to Israel’s security that will sharpen Israel’s qualitative military edge, which we’ve committed to.”

“We’re going to make sure Iron Dome continues to guard the skies over Israel. We’re going to make sure other hostile actors in the region know that Israel’s stronger than ever and prevent this conflict from spreading,” Biden said.

He added that “at the same time,” he’d spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about how it was “critical” for Israel to “operate by the laws of war.” “That means protecting civilians in combat as best as they can,” Biden said.

In a Breaking Defense op-ed published on Wednesday, John Ferrari, a retired Army general officer and budget expert, argued that Congress needs to work out $100 billion in supplemental funding in order to back both Ukraine and Israel. To make the money work correctly, Ferrari wrote that “the dollar amount needs to be sufficient to last until the next Congress is seated in early 2025, and passed without expiration dates tied to its funds.”

“Appropriating $100 billion in the face of national deficits that are approaching $2 trillion will be unpopular with many,” concluded Ferrari, now with the American Enterprise Institute. “But that’s exactly the point: It’s a clear signal to our allies and adversaries alike that Congress will not let conflict spiral into another world war, and that even amongst our political dysfunction at home, we remain committed to America’s role abroad.”

Strikes Against US Forces In Recent Days

In his reference to keeping American troops out of harm’s way, Biden was presumably referring to American servicemembers not being on the front lines of the conflicts in Ukraine or Israel, but the words came at a precarious time for US forces in the Middle East.

As Biden was delivering his remarks, Reuters reported that rockets struck a military base housing US troops in Iraq. It’s the latest attack on US forces in the last 72 hours, at a time when the Biden administration and its partners have been working to try and keep the conflict isolated to just Israel and Hamas.

On Tuesday at al-Asad airbase in western Iraq, US forces “engaged” two drones, destroying one and damaging the second which resulted in “minor” injuries,” US Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon spokesperson, told reporters today. The al-Harir airbase was also attacked by a drone but there were no injuries or damage.

On Wednesday morning, local time, the al-Tanf garrison in southern Syria housing US and coalition forces destroyed one incoming drone while the other hit the base resulting in “minor injuries” to coalition forces, Ryder said. That same morning in Iraq, early warning systems picked up a possible inbound threat to al-Asad airbase and personnel were directed to shelter in place. Although an attack did not occur, one US government contractor experienced a “cardiac episode” and later died, Ryder said.

And on Thursday, three land attack cruise missiles and several drones were shot down by the USS Carney, part of the Ford carrier strike group that arrived in the region last week. Ryder said that those projectiles, which originated in Yemen and were shot down the northern Red Sea, were potentially headed for Israel.

Ryder asserted that these attacks were not related to the events of Oct. 7, saying, “You have to look at these individually,” he said. “But,” he did stress, “we’re taking them seriously and we’re responding appropriately, obviously, ensuring that our forces are protected.”

“While I’m not going to forecast any potential response to these attacks, I will say that we will take all necessary actions to defend US and coalition forces against any threat,” Ryder said. “Any response should one occur will come at a time in a manner of our choosing.”

UPDATED 10/20/2023 at 10:49am to clarify that a chunk of the funding is for Indo-Pacific security, not solely for aid to Taiwan.