The Biden administration warned Monday that it had spent nearly all of the roughly $111 billion in taxpayer money already allocated for Ukraine’s war effort against Russia.
Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, wrote a letter to Congress that detailed the dwindling funds available for Ukraine aid, The Hill reported. She made clear that the White House believes additional aid is in the best interest of national security as Russia continues its military aggression against Ukraine.
“I want to be clear: without congressional action, by the end of the year, we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for Ukraine and to provide equipment from U.S. military stocks. There is no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment. We are out of money — and nearly out of time,” Young wrote.
“We are out of money to support Ukraine in this fight. This isn’t a next-year problem,” Young added. “The time to help a democratic Ukraine fight against Russian aggression is right now. It is time for Congress to act.”
The letter was sent to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
The $111 billion in taxpayer money for aid to Ukraine has nearly expired, Young said. She stated that the Pentagon had only 3% left of its $62.3 billion allocation for Ukraine that it received last month — and the State Department had spent all $4.7 billion of its budgeted amount.
In October, the White House made an emergency request for roughly $100 billion from Congress — $61 billion for aid to Ukraine. Other recommendations included a boost to border security and assistance to Israel in its fight against Hamas.
Some Republicans in Congress have expressed hesitation over continuing to fund Ukraine’s military operations. But Johnson has remained confident his chamber will pass aid to Ukraine and Israel, which he said could be moved separately from one another. However, he also suggested Ukraine aid should be tied to border funding.
“Ukraine is another priority. Of course, we can’t allow Vladimir Putin to march through Europe. And we understand the necessity of assisting there,” Johnson said, per The Hill. “What we’ve said is that if there is to be additional assistance to Ukraine — which most members of Congress believe is important — we have to also work on changing our own border policy.”