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Bipartisan support for extending $6 billion in Ukraine aid

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Senate prepares temporary spending bill to avert shutdown

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Uncertainty over House Speaker Johnson's support for

Ukraine aid

extension

By Patricia Zengerle, Mike Stone

WASHINGTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Pro-Ukraine U.S.

congressional leaders and President Joe Biden's administration

are near an agreement to seek a one-year extension of $6 billion

in military aid for Ukraine that is due to expire this month,

according to two sources familiar with the matter.

There is bipartisan support for the plan to include the

extension of the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) in a

Continuing Resolution, a short-term emergency spending bill that

the Senate and House of Representatives must pass in the next 11

days to avoid a Sept. 30 government shutdown, they said.

The issue comes at a crucial time in the war, as Russia pummels

Ukraine's energy grid ahead of the critical winter months.

Reuters reported on Sept. 5 that Biden's administration has been

engaged in urgent discussions with lawmakers about how best to

keep the funding from expiring before it can be used.

The issue has become more urgent as the deadline approaches. The

House of Representatives failed on Wednesday to pass a funding

bill supported by the chamber's Republican leaders that included

a controversial voting measure backed by former President Donald

Trump, the Republican candidate in the Nov. 5 presidential

election, and opposed by Democrats.

That bill did not include an extension of the Ukraine PDA

authority.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Thursday the

Democratic-led Senate would prepare its own temporary spending

legislation that would avert a shutdown. Negotiations on that

bill are continuing, but the sources said it is expected to

include the one-year extension of the Ukraine aid.

It was not yet clear whether Republican House Speaker Mike

Johnson, who held up Biden's last Ukraine spending request for

months, would support a Senate spending bill including the

extension for Ukraine.

Johnson's office did not respond to a request for comment. A

State Department spokesperson declined comment.

Another congressional aide, speaking on condition of

anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations, said there are

"active conversations" involving relevant House committees and

Johnson's office about an extension of PDA authority.

The $7.8 billion of Presidential Drawdown Authority was a key

component of a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine that easily

passed both the House and Senate in April after months of delay

by Republican opponents of Ukraine aid. PDA allows the president

to transfer defense articles and services from U.S. stocks in

response to emergencies.

However, most of the $7.8 billion in PDA in the bill has not

been used, largely due to supply-chain issues, leaving officials

scrambling to find a way to keep the remaining $6 billion from

expiring as the Sept. 30 deadline - the end of the 2024 fiscal

year - approaches.

PDA has been the primary mechanism the Biden administration

has used to ship weapons to Ukraine.

Congress has approved nearly $175 billion of aid and military

assistance for Ukraine and allied nations since Russia launched

its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Much of that has come in the form of long-term funding for

U.S. defense production, as the Pentagon looks to replace

equipment sent to Kyiv. Ukraine supporters have stressed the

benefits for U.S. industry as they look to overcome resistance

from a vocal bloc of Republicans who say taxpayer money should

be spent at home, not sent abroad.

Companies like RTX's Raytheon in Arizona which makes

Patriot missile systems and General Dynamics' ( GD ) 155

millimeter artillery plants in Pennsylvania, are receiving

contracts for products that will replace those sent to Ukraine

using PDA. Arizona and Pennsylvania are among the "swing" states

expected to decide the presidential election.