By Andrea Shalal and Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday asked Congress to approve about $40 billion in additional spending, including $24 billion for Ukraine and other international needs, $4 billion related to border security and $12 billion for disaster relief.
A senior administration official said the needs were great, and the White House was hopeful an agreement could be reached with Congress on the request, which covers only the first quarter of the current 2024 fiscal year.
Asked about criticism from House Republicans that the request violated a budget deal agreed in June, the official said it was clear when that deal was signed that it did not preclude requests for emergency funding.
‘There’s work to do, but we are hopeful about our ability to come together,” the official said.
A second official said the United States was making good on its promise to stand by Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion in February 2022, and would not be bashful about asking for additional funds if needed.
The funding request also includes $3.3 billion to expand development and infrastructure lending by the World Bank to developing countries and provide a “credible alternative” to China’s “coercive and unsustainable lending and infrastructure projects,” Biden’s budget director Shalanda Young said in a letter to Congress.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, Patricia Zengerle, David Shepardson and Doina Chiacu; editing by Doina Chiacu)
