President Joe Biden is asking Congress to provide more than $47 billion in emergency dollars to go toward the war in Ukraine, the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing monkeypox outbreak and aid for recent natural disasters in Kentucky and other states. The request, which comes as lawmakers prepare to return to Washington and fund the administration, seeks $13.7 billion related to Ukraine, including money for equipment, intelligence support and immediate budget support. Shalanda Young, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said more than three-quarters of the $40 billion approved by Congress earlier this year has already been disbursed or committed. “We have rallied the world to support the people of Ukraine as they defend their democracy, and we cannot allow that support for Ukraine to dry up,” Young said in a blog post. The White House’s request will feed into congressional budget negotiations in the coming weeks as funding for federal agencies is set to run out on Sept. 30. Both parties will seek to avoid a government shutdown in the weeks before the midterm elections, but will have to resolve differences over issues such as COVID-19 aid, which has been a sticking point for months as White The House has said more money is needed for vaccines and testing, and Republicans have pointed to the trillions already approved. In Friday’s request, the White House is asking for $7.1 billion to procure additional vaccines and to replenish personal protective equipment in the Strategic National Stockpile, among other measures. Another $8 billion will go toward accelerating research into next-generation vaccines and therapeutics. Biden is also seeking $2 billion to continue COVID-19 testing programs, including an initiative to distribute free home tests that ended Friday as the administration says it is short on funds. White House officials say they have some tests left in stock, but not enough to provide free tests if cases spike. Congress has not moved on similar requests from the administration to respond to COVID-19 amid the partisan impasse. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the White House has repeatedly warned there will be trade-offs if that money is not approved and “that’s exactly what happened.” The lack of free testing kits, for example, “reduces our domestic testing capacity for a potential drop,” he said. The government is also seeking $4.5 billion to boost efforts to combat monkeypox amid the ongoing outbreak. Officials said they have already used up significant stocks from the national stockpile to provide more than 1.1 million vials of vaccine. The money will help ensure access to vaccinations, testing and treatment, and also help fund the global effort to fight the disease, administration officials said. For disaster relief, the White House is asking for $6.5 billion, including money for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s relief fund, weather-hit farmers and efforts to increase the resiliency of the electric grid. As part of that request, the administration is also asking for $1.4 billion to address unmet disaster recovery needs in several states, including the recent devastating flooding in Kentucky. Our Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today. This content appears as provided to The Globe by the original wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.
