Biden administration rushes to save billions in Ukraine aid as deadline looms By Reuters

By Patricia Zengerle and Mike Stone

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration is engaged in urgent talks with Congress to allow it to use up to $6 billion in military aid for Ukraine before a Sept. 30 deadline, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

The effort comes at a time of high risk for Ukrainian forces advancing in Russia’s Kursk region as they try to contain Russian forces threatening the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk.

The Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), a key component of a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine approved in April, allows the president to transfer defense items and services from US stockpiles in response to emergencies.

The PDA was the primary mechanism the Biden administration used to ship weapons to Ukraine. Most recently, the administration announced on August 23 a new $125 million military aid package that includes air defense missiles, counter-drone equipment, anti-tank missiles and ammunition.

However, most of the $7.8 billion in PDA in the bill Biden signed in April has not been used, leaving officials to find a way to keep the remaining $6 billion from expiring as the deadline September 30 – end of 2024. fiscal year – coming up.

Sources close to the negotiations told Reuters that the State Department hopes to attach an extension of PDA authorities to a continuing resolution, a short-term emergency spending bill that the Senate and House of Representatives must pass this month to avoid a government on September 30. close.

Congressional advisers, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations, insisted there would be a solution, given strong bipartisan support for assistance to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s government.

Zelenskiy is traveling to the United States this month and hopes to present a “winning plan” to Biden. He is expected to attend a meeting on Friday of the Ramstein group of nations, including the US, which supply arms to Ukraine.

US COMPANIES BENEFIT

Congressional advisers said it was not entirely clear why the flow of weapons to Ukraine had slowed this year, but said it was partly due to the US Defense Department’s concern that its own stockpiles were being depleted as the arms industry grappled with supply chain problems of supply.

Pro-Ukraine lawmakers from both parties stressed the importance of continued support.

“Bipartisan support for Ukraine is critical to American interests, and we will do everything we can in 2024 to build on these successes and secure the future additional military aid needed to maintain momentum,” said Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham , in a statement last month after their sixth visit to Ukraine.

Congress has approved nearly $175 billion in aid and military assistance to Ukraine and allied nations since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Much of that came in the form of long-term funding for US defense production as the Pentagon seeks to replace equipment sent to Kiev. Biden administration officials and Ukraine supporters in Congress have emphasized the benefits for American manufacturers as they try to overcome resistance from a vocal bloc of Republicans who say taxpayer money should be spent at home, not sent abroad.

Companies such as Raytheon (NYSE: ) of Arizona’s RTX, which makes Patriot missile systems, and General Dynamics (NYSE: ) 155-millimeter artillery plants in Pennsylvania are receiving contracts for products that will replace those sent to Ukraine using PDAs . Arizona and Pennsylvania are among the swing states expected to decide the November 5 US presidential election.

As negotiations with Congress continue, the administration is considering a backup plan, according to sources familiar with the discussions, in which the State Department would make a substantial PDA announcement before Sept. 30, effectively spending the remaining $6 billion before expiry.

Under this contingency plan, the deadline for the delivery of weapons and equipment will be extended, the sources said, allowing for a more gradual transfer of resources to Ukraine.

Congressional aides and administration officials also note that there is another resource available: About $3 billion in PDA authority resulting from a Pentagon accounting error remains available to help Ukraine. It does not expire.