>At issue is a key provision of the United States Code that has allowed the country’s Department of Defense to supply Ukraine with tens of billions worth of military aid.
>
>Section 506 of the Foreign Assistance Act, better known as Presidential Drawdown Authority, allows the U.S. president, in an emergency, to direct “the drawdown of defense articles from the stocks of the Department of Defense…of an aggregate value of not to exceed $100 million in any fiscal year.” $100 million worth of equipment is of course not very much, so Congress, at the Joe Biden’s request, has increased that ceiling on five separate occasions since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
>
>**Most recently, in the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024, it was raised to $7.8 billion for Fiscal Year 2024. Since signing that legislation in April, President Biden has directed new drawdowns worth $1.875 billion, pursuant to that authority. That leaves $5.925 billion available for the rest of the fiscal year. However, once the clock strikes midnight on Oct. 1, Fiscal Year 2025 will begin, the authority for the previous fiscal year will expire, and the default ceiling of $100 million will come back into effect.**
>
>This is obviously an undesirable outcome, but it is not one without precedent. **At the end of Fiscal Year 2022, the Biden Administration allowed over $2 billion in Drawdown Authority to expire, despite calls from Congressional Republicans to utilize all of it. The amount allowed to expire was approximately 25% of the total that had been approved in the May 2022 Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act.** In the autumn of 2022, Ukraine was in a race against time, launching simultaneous offensives in Kharkiv and Kherson to drive Russian forces back before they could mobilize reinforcements, and before poor weather would put an end to maneuver operations. Though both offensives enjoyed success, had Ukraine received an additional $2 billion worth of ammunition and equipment at that time, Kyiv’s forces could have made even more territorial progress while simultaneously keeping the Russians off balance.
>
>**The current situation is even worse. A staggering 76% of the authority approved by Congress stands to expire in a few weeks time.** The Biden Administration requested $7 billion in Drawdown Authority for Fiscal Year 2024, and Congress approved $7.8 billion — with the intention that it would be used. Instead, the administration has needlessly rationed the Drawdown Authority aid packages to Ukraine. **The newly directed drawdowns since April have averaged just $200 million each, whereas during Fiscal Year 2023 the figure was around $600 million.**
>…The Biden Administration, in an attempt to avoid a repeat of September 2022, has asked Congress to prevent the remaining $5.925 billion from expiring. The specific request is for Congress to amend the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act (USSAA), 2024 to authorize the $7.8 billion in Drawdown Authority across both Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025. This would prevent the expiry of the remaining $5.925 billion and leave it available throughout Fiscal Year 2025 — either until it is exhausted, or until Congress amends Section 506 again.
>
>The request was submitted as part of a package sent to Congress by the Office of Management and Budget for continuing resolution “anomalies.” Having not yet passed appropriations acts to fund the government for Fiscal Year 2025, Congress will need to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government funded. While most lawmakers will likely opt to vote for the continuing resolution (rather than force a shutdown of the government just before an election), these votes are always contentious. It is still a possibility that the continuing resolution could be defeated, and the administration’s request to have this amendment included might not be granted.
>
>This raises the question: why did they not request that this provision be included in USSAA to begin with? In the spring it was obvious that extending the funding deadline would be a problem come September, and when they were drafting the bill, Congress could have avoided this problem by including language authorizing the $7.8 billion in both years.
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Some choice excerpts:
>At issue is a key provision of the United States Code that has allowed the country’s Department of Defense to supply Ukraine with tens of billions worth of military aid.
>
>Section 506 of the Foreign Assistance Act, better known as Presidential Drawdown Authority, allows the U.S. president, in an emergency, to direct “the drawdown of defense articles from the stocks of the Department of Defense…of an aggregate value of not to exceed $100 million in any fiscal year.” $100 million worth of equipment is of course not very much, so Congress, at the Joe Biden’s request, has increased that ceiling on five separate occasions since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
>
>**Most recently, in the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024, it was raised to $7.8 billion for Fiscal Year 2024. Since signing that legislation in April, President Biden has directed new drawdowns worth $1.875 billion, pursuant to that authority. That leaves $5.925 billion available for the rest of the fiscal year. However, once the clock strikes midnight on Oct. 1, Fiscal Year 2025 will begin, the authority for the previous fiscal year will expire, and the default ceiling of $100 million will come back into effect.**
>
>This is obviously an undesirable outcome, but it is not one without precedent. **At the end of Fiscal Year 2022, the Biden Administration allowed over $2 billion in Drawdown Authority to expire, despite calls from Congressional Republicans to utilize all of it. The amount allowed to expire was approximately 25% of the total that had been approved in the May 2022 Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act.** In the autumn of 2022, Ukraine was in a race against time, launching simultaneous offensives in Kharkiv and Kherson to drive Russian forces back before they could mobilize reinforcements, and before poor weather would put an end to maneuver operations. Though both offensives enjoyed success, had Ukraine received an additional $2 billion worth of ammunition and equipment at that time, Kyiv’s forces could have made even more territorial progress while simultaneously keeping the Russians off balance.
>
>**The current situation is even worse. A staggering 76% of the authority approved by Congress stands to expire in a few weeks time.** The Biden Administration requested $7 billion in Drawdown Authority for Fiscal Year 2024, and Congress approved $7.8 billion — with the intention that it would be used. Instead, the administration has needlessly rationed the Drawdown Authority aid packages to Ukraine. **The newly directed drawdowns since April have averaged just $200 million each, whereas during Fiscal Year 2023 the figure was around $600 million.**
>…The Biden Administration, in an attempt to avoid a repeat of September 2022, has asked Congress to prevent the remaining $5.925 billion from expiring. The specific request is for Congress to amend the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act (USSAA), 2024 to authorize the $7.8 billion in Drawdown Authority across both Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025. This would prevent the expiry of the remaining $5.925 billion and leave it available throughout Fiscal Year 2025 — either until it is exhausted, or until Congress amends Section 506 again.
>
>The request was submitted as part of a package sent to Congress by the Office of Management and Budget for continuing resolution “anomalies.” Having not yet passed appropriations acts to fund the government for Fiscal Year 2025, Congress will need to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government funded. While most lawmakers will likely opt to vote for the continuing resolution (rather than force a shutdown of the government just before an election), these votes are always contentious. It is still a possibility that the continuing resolution could be defeated, and the administration’s request to have this amendment included might not be granted.
>
>This raises the question: why did they not request that this provision be included in USSAA to begin with? In the spring it was obvious that extending the funding deadline would be a problem come September, and when they were drafting the bill, Congress could have avoided this problem by including language authorizing the $7.8 billion in both years.
>
https://preview.redd.it/jxk87mhojnqd1.png?width=1169&format=png&auto=webp&s=1c39406d1a691c802a91b5ca5864a04b92c5f6a9
Holy macaroni this is awful
What the fuck, why is the administration so fucking cowardly? This article is just own goal after own goal.