The White House told Congress it will need $6.4 billion in new funding to respond to Russia’s war on Ukraine, including $3.5 billion for the Pentagon and other funds to support Eastern European allies with security assistance and humanitarian aid.
The plan is about $24 billion more than the White House request, but is in line with spending totals backed by conservatives and moderate Democrats in Congress.
“The people who want to spend more than the Biden number have built a lot of support, and yes, I think that is a potential bipartisan pathway,” says House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith. “I don’t support it, I don’t think that’s where we should go, but at the end of the day, I have one vote.”