The Washington Post - USA (2022-03-02)

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A

russia invades ukraine

BY TONY ROMM

Congressional Democrats and
Republicans are preparing a mas-
sive, multibillion-dollar aid pack-
age for Ukraine, hoping to ad-
dress a fast-worsening humani-
tarian crisis and bolster the re-
gion’s defenses against any
further Russian incursion.
In a Capitol often racked by
partisanship, the two parties
have found early common ground
this week in calling for prompt
passage of an emergency spend-
ing measure, which some law-
makers say will ultimately exceed
the Biden administration’s initial
request to deliver roughly $6 bil-
lion in foreign assistance.
“I’ve heard some senators talk-
ing about as much as $10 billion,”
said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a top
lawmaker on the chamber’s
Armed Services Committee, add-
ing he “suspect[s] we will act in a
very vigorous way.”
Many of the details remain
unresolved, and early schisms
emerged Tuesday, as Democrats
and Republicans quibbled over
the exact amounts that would be
set aside for humanitarian aid or
defense and how they will be
apportioned. GOP lawmakers in
particular would like to see far
more money appropriated for de-
fense, especially military assis-
tance to Ukraine.
With the clock ticking, though,
Democratic leaders Tuesday
pressed lawmakers to move more
swiftly. In the Senate, Majority
Leader Charles E. Schumer
(D-N.Y.) called on Democrats and
Republicans to act on a “biparti-
san basis, and in lockstep with the
Biden administration, to pass a
strong aid package.”
“The strongest signal we can
send to [Russian President]
Vladimir Putin right now is the
United States stands together,
together, with the people of
Ukraine,” Schumer said in a
speech to open the chamber floor.
Top Democrats said they hope
to attach any new aid to a must-
pass bill that would fund the
government beyond March 11,
when the current spending agree-
ment is set to expire. Absent
congressional action next week,

key federal agencies and opera-

tions stand to shutter, potentially

testing Washington as it tries to

manage an ever-evolving list of

domestic and international chal-

lenges.

For now, the long-term funding

deal remains unfinished. But

Democrats and Republicans have

stressed in recent days that they

are making significant, encourag-

ing progress — and say the recent

tumult in Ukraine might provide

an added political jolt for a Con-

gress that’s at times slow to act.

“Let me put it this way: I’m

hoping this emergency [aid] will

spur more action on the omni-

bus,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen

(D-Md.), a top lawmaker on the

spending-focused Senate Appro-

priations Committee.

“The process needs to move

more quickly,” he said. “We’ve got

some ways to go to finish it up.

The need to pass emergency

funds to support Ukraine will

help drive that process.”

The flurry of work on Capitol

Hill comes days after the Biden

administration urged lawmakers

to approve $6.4 billion in emer-

gency assistance for the war-torn

country. The request called for

about $2.9 billion for the State

Department and other agencies,

which would be tasked with pro-

viding humanitarian and security

assistance to Ukraine as well as

other states in the region, includ-

ing Poland and Lithuania. And it

proposed another $3.5 billion to

boost efforts at the Defense De-

partment, according to White

House officials, who described

their request last week on the

condition of anonymity, given the

sensitive, early nature of the

talks.

In sketching out their request,

the Biden administration

stressed that the situation re-

mains fluid and the spending

needs could change, especially as

Russia continues to encroach on

Kyiv and other major Ukrainian

cities. And it called on Congress

to attach the aid to the still-form-

ing, longer-term spending deal,

which could fund the government

through the end of the fiscal year.

“The administration will con-

tinue to closely coordinate with

our European allies and partners

to assess on-the-ground needs,

and remain in close touch with

Congress as these needs evolve,”

an official said at the time.

On Tuesday, party lawmakers

signaled optimism they can meet

the fast-approaching deadline:

House Majority Leader Steny H.

Hoyer (D-Md.) told his colleagues

the House intends to vote on the

broader package March 8, three

days before the current spending

stopgap runs out. Other policy

proposals could come before Con-

gress later in March, aides antici-

pate.

But a “snag” emerged later in

the day, in the words of Senate

Minority Leader Mitch McCon-

nell (R-Ky.), who spoke to report-

ers after his party’s weekly lunch.

The potential flash point

stemmed from the way in which

Democrats had hoped to provide

some of the funds for Ukraine.

While the proposed humanitari-

an aid would be new, coming in

addition to sums already set aside

for the rest of the fiscal year, the

defense-related spending would

be redirected from part of the

Pentagon’s proposed budget, ac-

cording to the GOP leader.

“We’re not going to do that.

This is an emergency,” McConnell

said.

Asked about the discrepancy,

Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (Vt.), the top

Democrat on the Appropriations

Committee, pledged only that any

aid set aside for Ukraine would be

substantial. And he signaled an

unwillingness to negotiate at

length on the specifics of the

proposal.

“I’m not going to go back and

forth, and back and forth, and

back and forth. We’re going to

have aid to Ukraine,” he said.

The emergency aid also could

complement a suite of additional

congressional efforts to boost

Ukraine and penalize Russia.

That includes a renewed push

among Democrats and Republi-

cans to punish the Kremlin and

its allies, for example, with a focus

on sanctions on its energy sector

or a slew of oligarchs who may

have escaped the measures levied

recently by the United States and

Europe.

Other lawmakers have floated

a desire to target cryptocurrency,

seeking to ensure Russian elites

don’t traffic in the hard-to-track

digital money to evade sanctions

affecting Russian banks. And still

another group of House Demo-

crats has floated a proposal to end

normal trade relations with Rus-

sia, an idea that drew early inter-

est from both parties’ lawmakers

in the Senate on Tuesday.

“I’m intrigued by that,” said

Sen. Mike Crapo (Idaho), the top

Republican on the Senate Fi-

nance Committee. “I haven’t de-

cided whether to push that yet,

but it’s something I’m very inter-

ested in.”

Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.),

the leader of the chamber’s Intel-

ligence Committee, said Tuesday

he’s seeking to couple humanitar-

ian and defense aid with a pro-

posal that would help battle back

potential Russian cyberattacks

on U.S. businesses and other enti-

ties. His measure would require

businesses to disclose major digi-

tal intrusions, part of a range of

issues that arose when the Ukrai-

nian ambassador briefed Warner

and other lawmakers during a

private meeting late Monday.

“The concern I have is there’s

real-time need,” Warner said,

adding there “may be more” in aid

adopted by Congress than the

White House initially sought.

Some Republicans, however,

signaled this week they may pre-

fer to handle the matters sepa-

rately. Sen. Richard C. Shelby

(Ala.), the top GOP lawmaker on

the Senate Appropriations Com-

mittee, told reporters Monday

that federal funding and Ukraine

aid “ought to be separate” —

though he said the procedural

quibbles mattered little “as long

as they move” through Congress.

In advancing Ukraine aid,

Democratic leaders said they fur-

ther hope to approve billions of

dollars to bolster the U.S. re-

sponse to the pandemic, replen-

ishing key federal funds for tests,

therapeutics and vaccines. The

Biden administration previously

had asked for more than $35 bil-

lion in coronavirus aid across a

slew of federal agencies, includ-

ing about $5 billion to deliver

immunizations globally.

Some Democrats hope to

ratchet up spending even further,

including a push to provide $

billion toward a global vaccina-

tion effort, according to a person

familiar with the matter who

spoke on the condition of ano-

nymity to describe the private,

fluid negotiations. But some of

the party’s ideas have faced early

Republican resistance. GOP law-

makers in recent weeks have said

the Biden administration should

seek to repurpose existing, un-

spent stimulus money before ask-

ing Congress to approve more,

since lawmakers already have giv-

en the green light to roughly $

trillion in pandemic aid since the

crisis began.

Lawmakers from both parties

also have pushed in recent weeks

for still another tranche of spend-

ing to boost performance spaces,

restaurants and other small busi-

nesses still suffering financially.

But that push — at one point

valued nearly $70 billion — has

failed to attract sufficient support

among Republicans, according to

Van Hollen, who supported the

effort.

Marianna Sotomayor and Seung Min

Kim contributed to this report.

Congress readies massive humanitarian, defensive aid

ELIZABETH FRANTZ/REUTERS

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), flanked by fellow Senate Republicans, from left,

John Barrasso (Wyo.), John Thune (S.D.), Rick Scott (Fla.) and Joni Ernst (Iowa), speaks Tuesday.

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