Is the U.S. done sending $40 billion plus aid packages to Ukraine? Maybe so. But as the public begins to sour on America’s involvement in the war, the Biden administration and Congress have adopted a more piecemeal approach to dispensing aid to Ukraine, military or otherwise. A billion here, another there, and maybe two if they ask nicely. The money and equipment gets harder to trace and track, but it still goes out the door.
Over the weekend, an unnamed senior defense official said the Biden administration is set to provide the Ukrainians with four more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), additional munitions for those systems, 1,000 rounds of 155 mm artillery ammunition, demolition munitions, counter battery systems, as well as three tactical vehicles, spare parts, and other equipment. The U.S. has already provided the Ukrainians with eight similar HIMARS, bringing the total to twelve. […]
The rocket systems, munitions, and other supplies in the package amount total about $400 million in aid. But Biden will not need the approval of Congress to get the proposed material to Ukraine, as Biden is using Presidential Drawdown Authority funding to bankroll the package, meaning the U.S. is dispensing with more of its weapons stockpiles to further its efforts to assist the Ukrainians. […]
How, then, is the Biden administration getting away with providing $400 million in aid in one fell swoop? Congress has increased the Presidential Drawdown Authority cap by 110 times, from $100 million to $11 billion, for each fiscal year; it did so through the May 2022 supplemental appropriations bill to support Ukraine, according to Gomez. Läs artikel