WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday is set to sign a bill providing $13.6 billion in additional military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine as part of a $1.5 trillion government spending measure that omits COVID-19 aid the White House says is urgently needed.
The COVID spending was a casualty of negotiations over the larger government bill. The White House had asked for $22.5 billion for vaccines and treatment, but that was trimmed during talks to $15.6 billion and ultimately dropped altogether as rank-and-file Democrats rebelled against proposed cuts in state aid to pay for the new spending.
“We have made tremendous progress in our fight against COVID-19 but our work isn’t done,” Biden tweeted Tuesday. “We need Congress to immediately provide $22.5 billion in emergency funding to sustain our nation’s COVID-19 response.”
