National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has expressed confidence that the US House of Representatives will pass the National Security Bill that has long been pending approval by the Republican-dominated lower chamber.
The Senate last month approved the Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, but Speaker Mike Johnson has not yet brought the Bill to the floor of the House for a vote.
The $120 billion bipartisan funding Bill has set aside $60 billion to support Ukraine in the war against Russia.
With funds to arm Ukraine exhausted, U.S. Defense officials had warned that without action from Congress, further U.S. assistance for Ukraine could be in jeopardy at a critical time in Ukraine’s fight against Russia in the two-year-old war.
Sullivan on Wednesday met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak, and senior Ukrainian officials in Kyiv to reaffirm the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine in its self-defense against Russia’s invasion.
Addressing a news conference after the meetings, the top U.S. security official said, “I’m confident that we will achieve plan A. We will get a strong bipartisan vote in the House for an assistance package for Ukraine. And we will get that money out the door as we should.
I’m not going to make predictions about exactly when this will get done, but we are working to get it done as soon as possible. And President Biden is working this on a daily basis to try to deliver this package to the House,” he told reporters.
Sullivan underscored the multiple lines of U.S. support to Ukraine following a successful Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting earlier this week.
In a separate statement, NSC Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said Sullivan discussed ongoing efforts with allies and partners to hold Russia accountable for its aggression and mitigate the economic impacts of the war, and progress on anti-corruption and other key reforms needed to further Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration.
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