US to allocate $44.9 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine and NATO allies next year

Negotiators in the US Congress unveiled a $1.7 trillion government funding bill on Monday, as lawmakers scrambled to pass the measure, which includes record military spending before temporary funding runs out at the week's end, reported from Reuters.

The total funding proposed by the bill is up from the approximately $1.5 trillion appropriated the previous year.

Leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives aimed to pass the bill and send it to Democratic President Joe Biden by the end of the week to ensure no interruptions to the government's activities. For months, Democrats and Republicans have squabbled over how much money should be spent on military and non-military programs.

Included in the bill is $44.9 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine and NATO allies and $40.6 billion to assist communities across the country recovering from natural disasters and other matters.

Democrats and Republicans alike had aimed to tuck as many legislative wish-list items as possible into the "omnibus" bill funding the government through the end of this fiscal year on Sept. 30, 2023, without derailing the whole package.

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