The President of the United State Joe Biden, has submitted to Congress a statement of intent to cancel half of Ukraine’s economic aid debt, a sum of around $4.65 billion, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a press briefing on Nov. 20.
A funding bill passed by the U.S. Congress in April included just over $9.4 billion of forgivable loans for economic and budgetary support to Ukraine’s government, half of which the president could cancel after Nov. 15. The bill appropriated a total of $61 billion to help Ukraine fight the full-scale invasion Moscow launched in February 2022.
“We have taken the step that was outlined in the law to cancel those loans, provide that economic assistance to Ukraine, and now Congress is welcome to take it up if they wish,” Miller told reporters.
Miller said Biden’s statement of intent was delivered to Congress within the last week.
While Congress does have the option to overturn the president’s request, Miller said he expected U.S. lawmakers to support the debt cancellation.
“I would be surprised if Congress took that step (to overturn the request) given the overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress for providing assistance, but we will follow the law,” he said.
The Senate is due to vote later on Wednesday on a motion of disapproval of loan forgiveness for Ukraine put forward by Republican Senator Rand Paul, a frequent critic of U.S. support for Ukraine. The majority of senators from both parties support aid to Ukraine.
“Tonight, I forced a vote to block Biden from canceling $4.65B of Ukraine’s debt at the expense of U.S. taxpayers. His plan shifts the burden onto hardworking Americans already struggling with inflation. Sadly, the Ukraine 1st, America Last Caucus defeated my resolution.” Rand Paul had posted on his X timeline on Wednesday night
With only two months until President-elect Donald Trump takes office, the Biden administration has pledged to shore up support for Kyiv before the presidential transition.
President Joe Biden has ordered officials to rush as much aid to Ukraine as possible before he leaves office on Jan. 20 amid concerns President-elect Donald Trump could limit U.S. support.
He has also approved the delivery of anti-personnel land mines to Ukraine and reportedly authorized Kyiv to strike targets in Russia with long-range ATACMS missiles.
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