Washington: Europe and the Arabs - Agencies
US Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said that the potential cessation of government funding will affect aid provided to Ukrainian forces, and Kiev may lose this funding.
“The money originally agreed upon should be enough for the coming weeks,” Kirby told CNN. “But if we don’t get the funding, they won’t have the capabilities they need to counterattack in a critical time.”
It is noteworthy that the United States may face a government shutdown as of October 1 if lawmakers do not agree on the budget for the next fiscal year. The White House called on Congress to extend government funding for a short period in order to avoid a shutdown.
The aid provided to Ukraine has become a subject of disagreement between senators and members of the House of Representatives, and within the House itself. Some Republicans in the House of Representatives oppose allocating new aid to Kiev, and some even suggest stopping support for Ukraine altogether.
The White House has previously confirmed that financial resources to support Ukraine will remain available in the event that the work of the US government stops as a result of the so-called government shutdown that may occur starting October 1.
“There are clearly remaining resources identified to continue to provide support to Ukraine,” Shalanda Yang, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, told reporters Friday.
“And we are concerned about our stocks,” she added, so that supplies to Ukraine do not affect the combat capabilities of the United States itself.
The US Department of Defense directed a request to the US Congress to do everything in its power to avoid a government shutdown that would negatively affect the work of the Pentagon.
Deputy Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said during a press conference on Thursday: “Congress must work with its two parties in order to avoid government shutdowns and approve the budget,” adding that “a government shutdown is the worst scenario for the Department of Defense.”
Yesterday, Friday, the US House of Representatives failed to approve the bill to extend government funding until next October 31. The legislation was opposed by 232 members of the Council, meaning all Democrats and 21 Republicans. 198 representatives supported it, all from the Republican Party.
The legislation provided for a significant reduction in budget expenditures, amending procedures for protecting the American borders, and forming a committee to study the issue of the American government debt, which reached a new record level, exceeding $33 trillion in mid-September.
According to the draft legislation, it was not planned to reduce expenditures on national defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Homeland Security, and efforts to eliminate the effects of natural disasters.
Democrats opposed the draft legislation. The White House also confirmed that President Joe Biden would have vetoed the legislation if it had been passed in Congress.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre described the proposed austerity measures, which required reducing budget expenditures by 30%, as “devastating,” and accused Republicans of “violating their promises” regarding achieving a deal between the two parties, which would lead the United States to a government shutdown.
At the same time, the Senate is considering a draft of its own legislation, about extending government funding until November 17, proposed by the Democrats, but the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Kevin McCarthy, announced that he will refuse to put it to a vote in the House of Representatives even if the Senate approves it, and thus Congress is unlikely to agree on replacement legislation.