Officials and experts say the United States stands to rake in billions of dollars if a $95 billion aid package that includes funding for Ukraine passes the House of Representatives.
As U.S. lawmakers debate the merits of an ambitious aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, the Biden administration says the plan could return funding to the U.S. defense industry and generate up to $38.8 billion in benefits. It is advertised as having sex. The Wall Street Journal reported.
“That’s one of the things that’s misunderstood… is how important that money is to jobs and production across America,” said Lael Brainard, director of the White House National Economic Council.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2020, the U.S. defense industry has experienced a massive production boom in arms and ammunition as European allies strengthen their defenses against Russia.
A wartime boom overcame production declines caused by the pandemic, with U.S. orders for fighter jets and other munitions reaching decades’ worth of sales in just a few years.
The State Department recently noted that the United States secured more than $80 billion in arms deals in the past year, more than half of which came from European allies.
In August, the US sold Poland Apache helicopters, rocket systems, tanks and other munitions for $30 billion, but the foreign minister called on the US not to abandon Ukraine and Europe.
Miles Walton, a military industry analyst at Wolfe Research, told the Journal that U.S. arms sales and production have been “comparable in the last few years to the last 20 years.”
The United States also stands to benefit from liquefied natural gas (LNG) production after Russian gas supplies are disrupted and energy prices soar due to inflation.
The United States became the world’s largest LNG exporter last year, with about two-thirds of exports going to Europe. These exports are expected to nearly double by 2030, according to the Department of Energy.
But opponents of the funding bill say refunds of benefits and cash flow take time, and countries often take years to pay their bills.
It’s also unclear how many Americans will actually benefit from the production boom, the Journal said, as jobs related to Ukraine account for a small portion of domestic employment and income.
Many House Republicans have criticized the bill, arguing that the United States cannot afford to continue supporting Kiev and that the money would be better spent on strengthening America’s own border security.
Speaker Mike Johnson is said to be in “no hurry” to vote on the aid package, saying the bill will not pass the House in its current form. CNN Said.
