President Joe Biden urged Congress on Thursday to approve a new $33 billion aid package to Ukraine. He also unveiled a new plan to seize and liquidate the assets of Russian oligarchs and use the money to help rebuild the war-torn country.
“The cost of this fight is not cheap but caving to aggression is going to be more costly if we let it happen,” Biden said at The White House.
“We either back the Ukrainian people as they defend their country, or we stand by as the Russians continue their atrocities and aggression in Ukraine,” he added.
“Throughout our history,” Biden explained, “we’ve learned that when dictators do not pay the price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and engage in more aggression. They keep moving…We can’t let this happen.”
Biden was also careful to point out that U.S. isn’t engaging in a direct fight with Russia. “We’re not attacking Russia. We’re helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression, and just as Putin chose to launch this brutal invasion, he could make the choice to end this brutal invasion. Russia is the aggressor, no ifs, ands, or buts about it,” he said.
The Washington Post reports:
The White House said the roughly $20 billion in military aid it is seeking would help provide Ukraine and the “Eastern flank” allies with artillery, armored vehicles, anti-armor capabilities and advanced air defense systems, among other weaponry. The $8.5 billion in economic assistance would help Ukraine’s government pay for food, energy and health care, while the humanitarian assistance is intended to buffer a growing international hunger crisis. Ukraine’s government has asked for at least $2 billion per month from the United States to meet its short-term economic needs.
The Associated Press adds:
The assistance package, which now heads to Congress for consideration, would be more than twice as large as an initial $13.6 billion of defense and economic aid for Ukraine and Western allies that Congress enacted last month and is now almost exhausted. It was meant to signify that the U.S. is not tiring of helping to stave off Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempt to expand his nation’s control of its neighbor, and perhaps beyond.
“Our NATO allies, our EU partners, they’re going to pay their fair share of the cost as well, but we have to do our part as well in leading the alliance,” Biden said.
Biden also revealed that he’s sending a “comprehensive package” to Congress that would empower the U.S. to seize and redistribute the “ill-gotten gains” of Russian elites.
“We’re gonna seize their yachts, their luxury homes and other ill-gotten gains of Putin’s kleptocracy,” he said.
The Wall Street Journal provides additional context:
Proposals in the package include creating a criminal offense by making it unlawful for a person to knowingly possess proceeds obtained from corrupt dealings with the Russian government; allowing for the forfeiture of property that Russian oligarchs use to evade sanctions; adding sanctions evasion to the definition of “racketeering activity” under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO; and extending the statute of limitations to pursue money laundering prosecutions from five years to 10 years.
“This package of proposals will establish new authorities for the forfeiture of property linked to Russian kleptocracy, allow the government to use the proceeds to support Ukraine, and further strengthen related law enforcement tools,” a White House fact sheet says.
In his White House remarks, Biden also urged Congress to approve new funding for America’s fight against COVID-19. The AP explains:
The request comes with the fighting, now in its ninth week, sharpening in eastern and southern parts of the country and international tensions growing as Russia cuts off gas supplies to two NATO allies, Poland and Bulgaria.
There is wide, bipartisan support in Congress for giving Ukraine all the assistance it needs to fight the Russians, and its eventual approval seems certain. But Biden and congressional Democrats also want lawmakers to approve billions more to battle the pandemic, and that along with a Republican push to entangle the measure with an extension of some Trump-era immigration restrictions leaves the proposal’s pathway to enactment unclear.
In an accompanying letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Biden also asked lawmakers to include an additional $22.5 billion for vaccines, treatments, testing and aid to other countries in continuing efforts to contain COVID-19.
