PRAGUE -- A top U.S. diplomat says the Biden administration's plans to provide assistance to both Israel and Ukraine will pass in a divided Congress despite opposition from Republicans who say the aid packages should be considered separately.
U.S. Undersecretary of State Liz Allen told RFE/RL in an interview on November 1 that it's critically important that the United States stands with Ukraine -- alongside its allies and NATO -- at the same time it sends aid to Israel, which would be used in part to fund humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
Speaking at RFE/RL in Prague, Allen noted that Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testified the day before at a U.S. Senate committee to make “the very affirmative case for why we do need more funding for Ukraine alongside funding needs to resource Israel to defend itself.”
Their testimony was part of the Biden administration’s efforts to convince Congress to pass a nearly $106 billion supplemental funding request that includes aid for both Israel and Ukraine.
WATCH: U.S. Undersecretary of State Liz Allen told RFE/RL that the Biden administration's plans for a joint bill for funding Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and security on the Mexican border will go ahead despite opposition in Congress. Allen was speaking to RFE/RL's Ray Furlong in Prague on November 1.
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U.S. Diplomat Insists Joint Israel And Ukraine Funding Will Go Ahead
The new speaker of the House, Representative Mike Johnson (Republican-Louisiana), has said the aid must be considered separately in order to pass in the House of Representatives.
Asked whether the Biden administration can win the political fight over the funding, Allen said, “We can. We will continue to make the case.”
Johnson reportedly spoke about the aid packages with fellow Republicans in the Senate on November 1, telling them that Ukraine needs the U.S. aid, but there is no way President Joe Biden's request for aid for both countries in one bill could pass the House.
In a closed-door meeting, Johnson said that a fresh Ukraine aid package linked to U.S. border security would come up quickly in the House after lawmakers wrap up action on $14.5 billion in aid to Israel.
Senate Democrats remain skeptical of the approach, saying that separating the aid packages would face stiff opposition in the upper chamber, where they hold power. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat-New York) said that the House's decoupling of the funding was “a joke.”
The House bill currently under consideration would require that the $14.5 billion for Israel be offset with spending cuts elsewhere -- namely, the Internal Revenue Service, which received bulked up funding last year to go after tax cheats. The Congressional Budget Office said on November 1 that the House's bill would end up costing the federal government $12.5 billion because of the reduction in tax revenues.
Allen noted that the White House and the Office of Management and Budget also have rejected separating the two aid packages and their assessments made clear that this “is not a solution to the very real geopolitical realities in the world right now.”
Allen’s current tour of Europe included a stop in Varna, Bulgaria, on October 31 for talks with the Bulgarian military about security, the NATO alliance in the region, and the importance of bolstering the security presence in the Black Sea "not just to forestall further Russian aggression, but also to push back against its coercive actions in the region."
She said the region must remember that there are "global consequences" to Russia's aggression, including a global food security crisis caused by Russia’s invasion, which has reduced the flow of Ukrainian grains and other foodstuff on the Black Sea to many other parts of the world.
"So part of what we will do is continue to make sure that people understand the implications, and that we are working toward a whole of society approach to mitigate Russia's actions in Ukraine," she said.