Supplemental bill becomes law, provides billions in aid to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan > US Department of Defense > Department of Defense News

President Joe Biden today signed into law a bill that provides much-needed security assistance to US partners, including Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

“It will make America safer. It will make the world safer. And it will continue America's leadership in the world,” Biden said during a press conference after the signing ceremony. “It provides vital support to America's partners so they can defend themselves against threats to their sovereignty and the lives and liberties of their citizens.”

The president said the security supplement, worth about $95 billion, is not only an investment in the security of America's partners around the world, but also in the security of the United States at home and abroad.

“This is directly in the national security interest of the United States,” Biden said. “If Putin triumphs in Ukraine, the next move by Russian forces may well be a direct attack on a niton ally.”

If that were to happen, Biden said, the US, as a NATO partner, would be obliged to help.

“We would have no choice but to come to their aid, just as our NATO allies came to our aid after the 9/11 attacks,” he said. “That's why we are supporting and increasing support now for Ukraine, to stop Putin from dragging the United States into a war in Europe.”

Among the expenses in the additional security package are more than 60 billion dollars to support Ukraine. Biden said the aid would begin flowing immediately, initially as part of a new package of security assistance through the president's withdrawal authority, which includes military equipment drawn from the existing US inventory.

“I am making sure that the deliveries start immediately,” he said. “In the next few hours – literally, a few hours – we will start sending equipment to Ukraine for air defense munitions, for artillery, for missile systems and armored vehicles.”

Shortly after the president's speech, the Defense Department released details of a $1 billion security assistance package for Ukraine, which includes, among other things, RIM-7 and AIM-9M missiles; Stinger anti-aircraft missiles; tube-launched, optically-tracked, wire-guided or TOW missiles; ammunition for the high-mobility artillery rocket system; 155 mm and 105 mm artillery shells; and a variety of weapons of war.

The bill also includes about $14.1 billion in funding to support Israel, Biden said.

Earlier this month, on April 13, Iran and its proxies launched more than 300 aerial weapons at targets in Israel, but US, Israeli and partner forces destroyed a significant number of them before they reached their targets. The president said the US remains committed to Israeli security.

“My commitment to Israel, I want to make it clear again, is ironclad,” Biden said. “Israel's security is critical, and we will always make sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself against Iran and the terrorists it supports. .”

The additional security bill, Biden said, helps Israel supplement its air defense capabilities and also provides additional defense needs.

The additional funding also provides $9.5 billion for humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine and other populations caught in conflict zones around the globe.

“This bill includes $1 billion in additional humanitarian aid to Gaza,” he said. “We will immediately provide that assistance and increase it … including food, medical supplies [and] clean water.”

Also included in the bill is funding for partners in the Indo-Pacific region and humanitarian aid for Haiti, Biden said.

“This [bill] it's a reminder of what America can do when we come together, despite our differences,” he said. “I want to thank everyone in Congress for making it possible.”