The White House sounded the alarm Monday that it will run out of money to provide weapons to Ukraine in its fight against Russia without congressional action by the end of the year.
In a letter to congressional leaders, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young wrote the government is “out of money—and nearly out of time” to continue giving aid to Ukraine. The White House pleaded with Congress to act on a supplemental funding request first submitted in October, arguing it is of critical importance to U.S. national security.
“I want to be clear: without congressional action, by the end of the year we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for Ukraine and to provide equipment from U.S. military stocks. There is no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment. We are out of money—and nearly out of time,” Young wrote.
“We are out of money to support Ukraine in this fight. This isn’t a next year problem,” she added. “The time to help a democratic Ukraine fight against Russian aggression is right now. It is time for Congress to act.”
The Pentagon had used 97 percent of the $62.3 billion it received as of mid-November, Young wrote. The State Department has used all of the $4.7 billion in military assistance it received, which included funds for humanitarian assistance and economic and civilian security assistance, the Hill writes.