U.S. taxpayers will pay the salaries of thousands of Ukrainians, even as the country faces a government shutdown at the end of September.
The U.S. has delivered four rounds of funding, totaling $113 billion, for Ukraine since Russia’s invasion. President Joe Biden announced a new $325 million aid package for Ukraine during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the White House last week, and promised to help the country for “as long as it takes” to oust Russia.
An additional $24 billion in security and humanitarian aid that Biden is seeking for Ukraine hangs in the balance, amid a mounting Republican divide over further aid to Ukraine, with some House Republicans wanting to cut off financial support to the country entirely.
A federal government shut down will effectively begin on October 1 if Congress isn’t able to pass a funding plan that Biden signs into law. If that happens, federal agencies have to stop all nonessential work and will not send paychecks for as long as the shutdown lasts.
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While employees deemed essential still have to report to work, other federal employees will be furloughed—although they will receive backpay once the funding issues are resolved.
That would create a situation where U.S. federal employees will be waiting on paychecks, while U.S. taxpayer money will be paying the salaries of Ukrainians.
U.S. aid is being used to pay the salaries of all of Ukraine’s first responders, according to a recent report by 60 Minutes. The report also said the U.S. is buying seeds and fertilizer for Ukrainian farmers.
Samantha Power, the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), said in July that around $1.2 billion in funding for Ukraine would be used to pay the salaries of more than 57,000 first responders there.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military’s activities related to Ukraine will continue in the event of a shutdown, Pentagon spokesperson Chris Sherwood told Politico on Thursday.
The Biden administration has failed to explain what Americans are getting for their money in Ukraine, Retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, a former commander of the U.S. Army in Europe, told 60 Minutes in an interview.
But he said stopping Russia’s invasion of Ukraine directly benefits Americans.
“This war is about so much more than just Ukraine,” he said. “If you think about it, Russia has been for decades, and still is, an existential threat for Europe and the United States. I mean, just listen to what their leaders say. Look at the thousand nuclear weapons. They clearly will keep going if they’re not stopped.”
Newsweek has contacted USAID and the White House for further comment via email.