The bill sailed through the Senate last month with unanimous agreement and it passed overwhelmingly in the House.
Monday as President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan measure to reboot the World War II-era “lend-lease” program, which helped defeat Nazi Germany, to bolster Kyiv and Eastern European allies.
In a letter delivered to Capitol Hill on Monday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Congress to act before May 19, when the existing drawdown funds run out. The Pentagon has already sent or committed all but $100 million of the $3.5 billion in weapons and equipment that it can send to Ukraine from its existing stockpiles. And that final $100 million is expected to be used no later than May 19, they said.
With the president’s party holding only the slimmest majorities in the House and Senate, Republican cooperation is preferred, if not vital in some cases, for passage of the president’s strategy toward the region. Before signing the bill, Biden said “Putin’s war” was “once more bringing wanton destruction of Europe,” drawing reference to the significance of the day.
Biden acknowledged his request for more in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine would have to be separated from money he also sought from Congress to address the COVID-19 crisis at home.
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