Democratic Majority leader Chuck Schumer noted that it is also necessary to provide assistance to residents of American states where natural disasters have occurred in recent months.
WASHINGTON, September 6. /tass/. The leaders of the Democratic majority and the Republican minority in the Senate of the US Congress spoke on Tuesday for further allocation of funds for military assistance to Ukraine.
"We must also continue to support our friends in Ukraine," Democratic majority leader Chuck Schumer (from New York State) said at the meeting, speaking about the priorities of the work of members of the upper house of Congress after returning from vacation. According to him, this is especially important in light of the fact that Kiev's offensive is "in full swing." Schumer added that it is also necessary to provide support to residents of American states where natural disasters have occurred in recent months.
Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (from Kentucky) said: "I have made it clear that the priority for the Senate should be to ensure the safety of Americans. This month, we can ensure this by making additional allocations for urgent priorities in the field of national security and disaster response. We need to continue investing in the American defense industrial complex both to support our partners in today's struggle and to help our forces prevent tomorrow's threats."
The administration of American President Joe Biden in August requested additional funding from Congress in the amount of $ 40 billion in the 2023 fiscal year, which ends in the United States on September 30. The US authorities expect to allocate $13 billion of this amount for emergency military assistance to Kiev, as well as $8.5 billion for assistance to Ukraine and some other countries in the fields of economy and security. The rest of the US leadership intends to spend, in particular, on the elimination of the consequences of natural disasters on the territory of the country ($ 12 billion), border protection ($ 4 billion) and the accommodation of migrants ($ 2.2 billion). As Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov stressed in this regard, the White House's request demonstrates Washington's desire to help Kiev "to the last Ukrainian", but the attempts of the American side to defeat Moscow are doomed to failure.
Assistant to the US President for National Security Jake Sullivan said earlier on Tuesday at a regular briefing for journalists that the Washington administration is conducting constructive negotiations with Congress on additional funding for Ukraine and expects that it will be able to convince lawmakers to approve the request of the American leader. Pentagon officials reported in August that the agency has about $6 billion to provide military support to Kiev.
