The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) confirmed that the federal government has spent over $101 billion on the war in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022, Fox News reported.
In January, a group of Republican lawmakers led by Ohio Senator JD Vance sent a letter to OMB Director Shalanda Young requesting a full accounting of the assistance the Biden administration has provided to Ukraine since the invasion.
In his letter, Senator Vance requested that the detailed information be provided by February 7, 2023. However, it took OMB Director Young seven months to provide the information requested.
According to Fox News, which obtained a copy of the OMB’s eventual response, Director Young detailed the economic, military, and humanitarian assistance the US has provided since February 24, 2022, and reiterated the Biden administration’s commitment to providing support to Ukraine.
Young noted that the money spent on Ukraine has bipartisan support in Congress and argued that the spending has been “critical to Ukraine’s success on the battlefield” and helped the Ukrainian people “endure under harsh conditions.”
She stressed that the president has been clear that the US “will not waver” in its commitment to support Ukraine as it fights for its “freedom and independence.”
Young assured Senator Vance that the Biden administration agrees with him that “transparency and accountability are paramount” in ensuring that taxpayers are “confident in their assistance” in Ukraine’s fight against Russia.
In her response, Young provided the senator with a table detailing the supplemental funding for Ukraine beyond the spending the OMB provided Congress in August.
According to the details, the Office of Management and Budget has committed or spent $101,198,000,000 for Ukraine. In addition to that, the spreadsheet provided also includes plans to send an additional $9.8 billion.
The spreadsheet also itemizes the spending from the Pentagon, the State Department, the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, and other federal agencies.
