The Biden administration plans to forgive about $4.7 billion in loans to Ukraine, the State Department announced Wednesday, but some lawmakers are working to block that.
The Biden administration has poured billions of dollars into Ukraine since the country's war with Russia began in 2022. Some of the money given to Ukraine came in the form of loans, but Biden officials are prepared to forgive the debt, the State Department said. Spokesman Matthew Miller said reporters. (Related: International Criminal Court issues arrest warrant for Prime Minister Netanyahu)
“Some of the economic aid was provided in the form of a loan, but the bill gave us the option to cancel it. The loan was made at our discretion,” Miller said Wednesday. “So we took the steps outlined in the law to cancel these loans.”
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said: (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Miller explained that the Biden administration is doing so with approval from Congress. Lawmakers in April passed a nearly $60 billion aid package for Ukraine that included about $10 billion in loans, which Kiev technically has to repay. However, the bill included a provision that would allow for complete debt forgiveness by 2026.
President Joe Biden plans to use the remainder of his term to forgive $4.7 billion of those loans. But Miller noted that Congress could pass a resolution blocking the Biden administration's debt forgiveness.
Some lawmakers are already trying to do so. Republican Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie introduced A resolution to block Biden's loan forgiveness will be passed Wednesday, but it will need enough votes in both chambers to pass.
“When Joe Biden leaves office, he intends to forgive the $4.65 billion in debt that Ukraine owes American taxpayers,” Massey said Wednesday, adding that the bill “will be the last of America's It added that it had been submitted “in order to prevent the policy from taking effect.”
Separately, Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul on Wednesday pushed for a vote on the Senate floor to block Biden's debt cancellation, saying, “Unfortunately, the Ukraine First, America Last Caucus… rejected my resolution,” he said in a statement. statement.
The decision to forgive some of Ukraine's debt is the latest move for Biden as he seeks to funnel as much U.S. aid to Kyiv as possible before leaving office in just a few months, even if aid options are limited. It shows the efforts of Reports emerged over the weekend that senior Biden officials recently gave Ukraine the green light to begin using long-range missiles provided by the United States to strike targets deep inside Russian territory.
The move surprised some national security experts, given the Biden administration's long-standing reluctance to allow Ukraine to use missiles for such purposes. The administration has previously expressed concern that allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles provided by the United States to attack Russian soil would only escalate the war without giving Ukraine any tangible strategic advantage. was expressed.
As reported on Wednesday, the Biden administration recently sprayed U.S.-supplied antipersonnel mines into the countryside, even though Ukraine has been the subject of international scrutiny due to the danger it poses to civilians. allowed to do so.
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