- The Biden Administration has circulated a map showing the states that have benefited from Ukraine aid.
- In total, US states have received $27 billion of investments and spending on manufacturing supplies.
- President Biden hopes to convince Congress to continue sending aid to Ukraine to help combat Russia’s invasion.
Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Texas are three of the US states to have benefited the most from aid sent to Ukraine, according to a map that the Biden Administration has been sending around Capitol Hill.
The map is part of an effort to convince Republicans and the American public to support President Biden’s proposal to spend billions of dollars on the wars in Ukraine and Israel, as well as the Indo-Pacific region and border enforcement.
In October, the president asked Congress to approve $61.4 billion for Ukraine, $14.3 billion for Israel, and $9.15 billion for humanitarian aid in the two countries and the Gaza Strip.
JONATHAN ERNST / Getty
To help make his case, Biden has highlighted the benefit of aid for US manufacturing and jobs.
In total, US states have received $27 billion worth of investments and spending on “munitions and tactical vehicle procurements” to support the resistance against Russia, according to the documents seen by Reuters.
Pennsylvania tops the list, having received $2.364 billion to manufacture arms and ammunition. Arizona has brought in $2.196 and Texas $1.45 billion.
Three out of eight Republican members of Congress from Pennsylvania, three out of six from Arizona, and 18 out of 25 from Texas have been voting against sending aid to Ukraine, Reuters reported.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has recently become a surprise advocate for increasing aid to Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Despite previously voting against sending more aid to combat Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invading forces, Johnson has used his position as speaker to publicly label Ukraine aid a key priority.
“We can’t allow Vladimir Putin to march through Europe and we understand the necessity of assisting there,” Johnson said, per The Journal.
But Biden is also looking to win over the American public by highlighting the domestic benefits of sending aid, particularly as both Pennsylvania and Arizona are key battleground states for the presidential election.
“We send Ukraine equipment sitting in our stockpiles. And when we use the money allocated by Congress, we use it to replenish our own stores, our own stockpiles, with new equipment,” Biden said last month.
“Equipment that defends America and is made in America. Patriot missiles for air defense batteries, made in Arizona. Artillery shells manufactured in 12 states across the country, in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas,” he added. “Just as in World War II, today patriotic American workers are building the arsenal of democracy and serving the cause of freedom.”
On Sunday, the US Department of Defense (DoD) announced a security assistance package of up to $125 million for “Ukraine’s immediate battlefield needs,” as well as $300 million “to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses over the long term.”
“The Administration continues to call on Congress to meet its commitment to the people of Ukraine by passing additional funding to ensure Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself against Russia’s brutal war of choice,” the DoD said in a press release announcing the package.
