Congress Approved $113 Billion of Aid to Ukraine in 2022
Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine less than one year ago, Congress has approved more than $113 billion of aid and military assistance to support the Ukrainian government and allied nations. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 omnibus appropriations package included an additional $47.3 billion of emergency funding to provide humanitarian, military, and economic assistance to Ukraine on top of the $65.8 billion of funding already approved in three other emergency funding packages enacted by Congress.
Of the $113 billion approved in 2022, about three-fifths ($67 billion) has been allocated toward defense needs and the remaining two-fifths ($46 billion) to nondefense concerns such as general Ukrainian government aid, economic support, and aid for refugee resettlement. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) provided cost estimates of the four funding packages at the time each was passed. In total, CBO estimated that $6.6 billion of the $113 billion would be spent in FY 2022 and another $37.7 billion in FY 2023. Furthermore, CBO estimated more than half of the approved funds would be spent by the end of FY 2024 and more than three-fourths by the end of FY 2026.
To date, the Biden Administration has sent Ukraine roughly $26 billion of direct military aid, mainly in the form of military hardware, training, and supplies.
Congressionally-Authorized Emergency Ukraine Aid Enacted in 2022
| Total Authorized | |
|---|---|
| Drawdown Replenishment | $27.2 billion |
| Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative | $18 billion |
| United States Military | $15.2 billion |
| Foreign Military Financing Program | $4.7 billion |
| Other Defense | $2 billion |
| Subtotal, Defense | $67.1 billion |
| Economic Support Fund | $26.9 billion |
| International Disaster Assistance | $7.9 billion |
| Assistance for Refugees | $6.6 billion |
| Assistance for Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia | $1.5 billion |
| Other Nondefense | $3.1 billion |
| Subtotal, Nondefense | $46 billion |
| Total | $113.1 billion |
| Memo: Total direct military support provided via PDA, USAI, and FMF | $25.9 billion |
The three main channels for providing direct military aid to Ukraine are Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), and Foreign Military Financing (FMF).
Using PDA, the President can send military hardware out of the U.S. military’s own stockpiles directly to Ukraine. President Biden has utilized this authority 27 times since Russia invaded Ukraine to send nearly $15.6 billion worth of U.S. military hardware. Congress sets the limit on how much support the President can provide through PDA in a given fiscal year. In the second Ukraine funding bill passed in May, Congress set the limit for FY 2022 at $11 billion, and President Biden used approximately 84 percent of that authority to send $9.2 billion worth of military hardware through September. Prior to enactment of the FY 2023 omnibus, Congress had approved $3.7 billion of PDA for FY 2023, which had been fully used as of Dec. 21. The omnibus included an additional $10.8 billion of PDA authority, bringing the limit for FY 2023 to $14.5 billion.
Through USAI, the federal government contracts with the private sector to provide training, supplies, and other operational needs to the Ukrainian military and other allies. The Biden Administration has utilized USAI on eight occasions since April to provide nearly $7.2 billion in support, out of $18 billion authorized by Congress.
Finally, the federal government uses FMF to backfill the stockpiles of NATO allies that have sent their own military hardware directly to Ukraine. The Biden Administration has used FMF three times since the beginning of the war to provide a total of $3.1 billion of support, out of $4.7 billion authorized by Congress.
Besides funding for those three channels of direct military support, Congress has approved nearly $15.2 billion of funding for the United States military related to the war in Ukraine, largely focused on operations and maintenance costs, procurement, and other programs related to military aid. It's also important to note that this funding comes on top of the aid Congress regularly approves for Ukraine, which totaled $700 million in FY 2020.
In addition to the military portion of Ukraine aid, Congress has also approved $46 billion of non-military support. More than half of that amount – nearly $27 billion – has come in the form of economic support funds. This money is used for various purposes including funding the Ukrainian government, repairing and securing Ukraine’s energy grid, providing food security, and supporting the economy through infrastructure repair and other means. Another $7.9 billion has been provided for international disaster assistance; $6.6 billion to support and relocate refugees; $1.5 billion to support allies in Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia; and more than $3.1 billion for other nondefense-related purposes.
Nearly a year since the start of the war, the U.S. Congress has allocated $113 billion toward supporting Ukraine. If lawmakers decide to enact future support they should responsibly offset the cost rather than continuing to add it to the debt, as they have with the cost of previous global conflicts.
Note: this blog has been updated to incorporate the latest round of PDA and FMF aid announced on Jan. 6, 2023.
