SOUTH JERSEY (AP/KYW Newsradio) — The relentless Russian assault on Ukraine continues, and it appears to be getting uglier by the minute.
Delaware U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that controls foreign aid and State Department expenditures, is leading efforts to ask Congress for a spending package that could significantly exceed $10 billion for the nation’s response to Ukraine.
Coons’ estimate provided an initial look at the costs American taxpayers could bear as a result of Russia’s attack on its western neighbor.
He told reporters that he is expecting the request to cover the costs of helping millions of Ukrainian refugees who could flee to Poland and nearby NATO countries, supporting those nations’ armed forces and training and supplying the Ukrainian resistance.
He said the money would also cover the expenses of monitoring and enforcing U.S. sanctions against Russia and for the Pentagon’s bills for deploying the 7,000 additional American troops that President Joe Biden has ordered be sent to Europe. Biden has said the U.S. will help defend every inch of NATO territory.
“I expect that there will be a supplemental request well above $10 billion,” Coons told reporters, calling it “an initial guess.”
Coons said he believed the spending request would get strong bipartisan support.
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Coons spoke after returning from an extended trip to Germany, Poland and Lithuania, where he and other members of Congress discussed the crisis with European leaders.
He said the alliance of countries standing in Putin’s way is strong, but it’s hard to predict what could happen next.
“His chilling remarks a few days ago that Ukraine is not a legitimate country and that he doesn’t believe it has a claim to independence is a reminder of just how disruptive a force Putin is and will remain,” he noted.
“You’re not crying wolf if he’s actually a wolf. I think we are in a moment similar to 1939.”
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When asked if the sanctions will work, New Jersey Congressman Donald Norcross, who is on the Armed Services Committee, said it’s tough to tell because the European and Russian economies are so intertwined.
“They have economic interests tied to primary fuels coming from Russia. That’s how Russia has re-emerged over the last two decades, through their resources,” he explained.
“Russia is looking to create the new Soviet Union. [Putin] feels that what happened to the Soviet Union two decades ago was the biggest embarrassment in their life.”
Lawmakers, returning from a recess, are also expected to focus next week on writing bipartisan legislation financing federal agencies for the rest of this year. Lawmakers hope to approve that bill by March 11, when money temporarily funding government will run out.
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