KYIV. UkraineGate . 7 . December .2022 | Society .
US lawmakers have agreed to provide Ukraine with at least $ 800 million in additional security assistance next year, according to a $ 858 billion defense policy bill released on Tuesday .
Details
The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2023, or NDAA, authorizes additional costs for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which is $500 million more than U.S. President Joe Biden’s request earlier this year.
The bill also increases billions of dollars in aid to Taiwan over the next few years. Thus, it strengthens the Pacific Deterrence Initiative with new investments of $ 11.5 billion. And it authorizes the passage of Taiwan’s 2022 Resilience Building Act of 2022, legislation aimed at expanding security cooperation with Taiwan with spending of up to $10 billion over five years.
The NDAA compromise version is the result of months of negotiations between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives.
Overall, the bill provides $45 billion in defense spending more than Biden requested.
The bill includes $ 2.7 billion to increase ammunition production capacity while temporarily lifting some restrictions on contracts for the supply of ammunition to support Ukraine.
The bill allows additional funds to develop hypersonic weapons, close the Red Hill fuel depot in Hawaii, and purchase existing weapons systems, including Lockheed Martin Corporation’s F-35 fighter jets and General Dynamics ships.
This month, the NDAA for fiscal year 2023 is expected to be approved by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and sent to the White House for Biden to sign as law.
However, the bill is not the final word on spending. Bills like the NDAA only provide for programs. The U.S. Congress must pass appropriations bills to give the government legal authority to spend federal money.
U.S. congressional leaders have yet to approve next year’s appropriations bill.
Supplement
The volume of military assistance to Ukraine from the United States exceeded$ 20 billion.
