The president’s authority to send weapons to Ukraine is set to expire at the end of September, with the money left unspent.
US President Joe Biden has a limited time to utilize $5.8 billion in congressionally-approved military aid for Ukraine before the fiscal year ends, US officials told the Associated Press, requesting anonymity.
The funds are at Biden’s disposal under presidential drawdown authority (PDA), a mechanism designed for quick delivery of weapons to other nations during emergencies. It allows the president to use Pentagon stockpiles.
Sources indicated that the White House had requested Congress extend the PDA into the next fiscal year, seeking inclusion in the spending bill lawmakers will likely approve to continue funding the federal government beyond this month, as reported by the news agency on Thursday.
Republicans and Democrats in Congress often clash over spending priorities, and the issue of Ukraine aid surfaced earlier this year. Some GOP representatives resisted allocating additional funds for Ukraine for months, demanding the security situation on the US southern border be addressed first.
A compromise was reached in April, with lawmakers approving $61 billion for Ukraine in a supplemental bill, some of which was intended to reimburse the Pentagon for weapons previously delivered to Ukraine.
When asked about PDA during a briefing on Thursday, Pentagon press secretary Pat Ryder stated that defense officials were “continuing to work with Congress to see about getting those authorities extended.”
“You’re going to continue to see drawdown packages, but we’ll have much more to provide on that in the near future,” he added, declining to confirm whether the remaining sum was close to $6 billion.
AP sources revealed that beyond the $5.8 billion, Biden has the authority to spend $100 million under PDA after September. There is also separate funding exceeding $4 billion that can be used to pay weapons manufacturers for long-term contracts, lasting until the end of FY 2025, according to officials.
The US Department of Defense has a poor record of tracking and reporting its assets. Last November, the Pentagon failed its sixth annual audit in a row. On Thursday, Inspector General Robert Storch reported that the military “did not effectively and efficiently implement accountability controls” for PDA delivered to Taiwan from November 2023 through March 2024.