The Biden administration more than doubles funding request to respond for Ukraine

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

President Biden is asking Congress for $33 billion in funding to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine - more than double the support authorized so far.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: The cost of this fight is not cheap, but caving to aggression is going to be more costly if we allow it to happen.

INSKEEP: NPR's Mara Liasson has been listening to the president. Hey there, Mara.

MARA LIASSON, BYLINE: Hi there, Steve.

INSKEEP: I guess, you know, we're used to watching the last few years - watching trillion-dollar bills; $33 billion doesn't seem like that much, but it is a lot of money. What's it for?

LIASSON: Well, it's a lot of money. And about $20 billion of it is going to provide weapons to Ukraine, replenish U.S. arms stockpiles after those weapons are sent and help other countries shift away from a dependence on Russian weapons. Additionally, $8.5 billion of it is for economic assistance to the Ukrainian government. Their economy has obviously been really damaged; $3 billion of it is being requested for humanitarian and food security funding, including supporting refugees. And also they are requesting funds to increase U.S. production of wheat and soybeans. They want the Defense Production Act to be invoked because they also need to expand reserves of critical minerals that are needed in the manufacturing of defense machinery. Bottom line - the president's argument is that the investment in Ukraine's security is a small price to pay compared to what it will cost to stave off future aggression because, he said, when aggressors like Russia don't pay a price, they do it again.

INSKEEP: He also wants Russian oligarchs to pay a price here. How is he going to get that done?

LIASSON: That's right. He's asking Congress for new legislation to make it easier to seize property that are - that is linked to Russian oligarchs and then use the proceeds from selling that property to support Ukraine. The proposal would streamline the process for seizing it, forfeiting it, also to prevent oligarchs from evading sanctions. And it would beef up the RICO Act - that's the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act usually used against the Mafia. But it would extend the statute of limitations - a lot of legal tweaks.

INSKEEP: What else has come up as the president is talking today?

LIASSON: Well, he's also talking about COVID relief because he's asking Congress for $22.5 billion in COVID relief. There's a big debate on Capitol Hill about whether the COVID money and the Ukraine money should be linked together and passed in one big bill. The president was asked about that today. He says, I don't care how they do it. We just need both funding streams passed. We got to do it fast.

INSKEEP: So I guess the urge there is it's presumed that the Ukraine bill would pass because there's bipartisan support for that. So if the COVID bill is attached, they'll both get voted for - that's the idea?

LIASSON: Well, there's a lot more bipartisan support for the Ukraine bill than there is for COVID aid because, remember, there's that big disagreement around extending Title 42 pandemic border controls. That was the health rule that allowed the administration to prevent people from crossing the border. Now that COVID is receding, the White House wanted to lift Title 42, but a lot of Republicans don't want to do it. A U.S. court has ruled against it, and a lot of moderate Democrats who are running for reelection also want Title 42 to be kept in place.

INSKEEP: Everything gets tangled together, and Mara Liasson untangles it for us. Mara, thanks so much.

LIASSON: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.