By Patricia Zengerle, Steve Holland and Trevor Hunnicutt
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden may consider a supplemental request of about $100 billion that would include defence aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, multiple sources familiar with the request told Reuters on Tuesday.
Biden has been widely expected to ask Congress to pass a supplemental spending bill within days, as Washington responds to the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants while looking to continue to support Ukraine as it grapples with a Russian invasion.
The news broke as Biden prepared to depart for Tel Aviv and Amman to show support for Israel and also to meet leaders of Jordan and Egypt on the Gaza humanitarian crisis
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U.S. Senate leaders had said earlier on Tuesday they expected Biden to send them a request by the end of this week for billions of dollars in assistance for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan and security at the U.S. border.
Two of the sources said the request was for a full year of funding, explaining the large size.
Administration officials have been working on the request for weeks.
Senator Ben Cardin, Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he had not yet seen a specific figure for the supplemental request, but would not be surprised if it was as large as $100 billion.
“I hope it’s enough to get us through 2024,” Cardin told Reuters.
He said he thought it had a good chance of passing the Senate with support from both Biden’s fellow Democrats and Republicans. “I think this is our best shot to get it done,” Cardin said.
ISRAEL ASKED FOR $10 BILLION
However, there is uncertainty about the fate of any legislation in Congress, which under U.S. law controls spending. The Republican-led House of Representatives has been without a speaker and unable to pass legislation since Kevin McCarthy was ousted on Oct. 3.
A congressional source familiar with the request said Israel had asked for $10 billion, as it responds to an attack on its citizens by the Iran-backed militant group Hamas. Israel already receives $3.8 billion per year from the United States, under a 10-year agreement that began in 2016.
Congress has already approved $113 billion in security, humanitarian and economic assistance to Ukraine since Russian troops poured into its territory in February 2022.
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Bloomberg first reported that Biden was considering making a $100 billion request.
“We are going to do everything in our power to ensure the Senate delivers the support for Israel and the rest of the package. We intend to get the package by the end of this week,” the Senate’s majority leader, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, told his weekly press conference.
Senator Mitch McConnell, the chamber’s top Republican, said he expected the request to include assistance for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, and said Republicans want it to include “something serious” for the border.
Top Biden administration officials will hold a classified briefing on Wednesday for the Senate on the situation in Israel and Gaza. Schumer said that Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, who faces charges of acting as an unregistered agent for Egypt, would not attend.
Menendez has denied wrongdoing.