Senate leaders on Tuesday announced they reached a deal on a stopgap funding bill that needs to be passed by September 30 to avert a partial government shutdown. The bill includes $6.2 billion for Ukraine and $6 billion for natural disasters.
“We will continue to fund the government at present levels while maintaining our commitment to Ukraine’s security and humanitarian needs, while also ensuring those impacted by natural disasters across the country begin to get the resources they need,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said.
The bill would fund the US government until November 17. The inclusion of $6.2 billion for Ukraine would ensure that the US could continue to fund the proxy war against Russia, although the Pentagon has said Ukraine operations would be exempted from any shutdown.
The Pentagon still has a few billion dollars left to arm Ukraine, made available by an “accounting error” that officials say can roll into the next fiscal year, which starts on October 1 for the federal government. If the $6.2 billion for Ukraine is authorized and used, it would bring total US spending on the war to about $119 billion.
Once passed through the Senate, the stopgap funding bill could have a hard time making it through the Republican-controlled House. Sources told CNN that McCarthy told his team on Tuesday that he plans to amend the Senate bill to include border security funds that the GOP is looking for.
The CNN report also said that it’s likely the Ukraine funding might be stripped from the House version of the bill. McCarthy has failed to move forward funding legislation due to more conservative GOP members who are opposed to spending levels and also oppose additional aid for Ukraine.