OAN’s Stephanie Stahl
5:52 PM – Tuesday, October 17, 2023
President Joe Biden is expected to ask Congress for $100 billion in defense assistance for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, alongside increased security at the U.S. border.
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The current president has pledged aid for Israel following the recent deadly attacks by Hamas on October 7th, and subsequent attacks that have followed in the Israel-Hamas war.
Support for Israel has widespread bipartisan backing in the U.S. Congress. Assistance for Ukraine, however, does not have the same level of support from House Republicans.
Earlier this month, a coalition of lawmakers advocating for increased assistance to Kyiv put forth a proposal for the administration. They had suggested a combined aid-package for both Israel and Ukraine as a strategy to navigate resistance.
The news of the Biden Administration’s request came as Biden prepared to depart for Tel Aviv, Israel, and Amman, Jordan, in order to show support for Israel and to also meet officials in Jordan and Egypt. The administration maintained that the leaders would be discussing the humanitarian crisis.
On Tuesday, U.S. Senate legislators announced that they expected Biden to put in the multi-billion dollar request for assistance by the end of the week.
Incoming reports also indicated that the request will be for a full year of funding and that White House officials have been working on the request for weeks.
However, any request made by the White House will have to be postponed until the House of Representatives elects a new speaker, following former GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s removal from the position.
All spending measures must be taken up by the House, but it is currently unable to proceed with legislative matters until lawmakers unite behind a new speaker.
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By: OAN
