1y ago

Biden asks Congress for $40 billion to support Ukraine, replenish US disaster aid and bolster border

apnews.com Biden asks Congress for $40 billion to support Ukraine, replenish US disaster aid and bolster border

The Biden administration is asking Congress to provide more than $13 billion in emergency defense aid to Ukraine and an additional $8 billion for humanitarian support through the end of the year.

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481 comments

Still waiting for Biden to ask for $40 billion for US aid
- Wait no more! https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/14/biden-administration-has-canceled-66-billion-in-student-debt.html
  I'm frankly shocked conservatives are doing everything they can to prevent it!
  
  Well, yes. But I also worry that student loan aid is now a red herring to ignore a lot of other issues.
  
  “Wow, I wish Biden would spend 40 billion on US priorities”
  “Here’s how Biden helped cancel 66 billion in student debt.”
  “Actually that’s a red herring.”
  Like, I don’t love Biden either and wish he were more progressive in a WIDE variety of areas, but we should also give credit where credit is due. Also between the Inflation Reduction Act ($400b), American Rescue Plan ($1.9t), and the Infrastructure bill ($1t) there are literally trillions of dollars in additional domestic spending that would not have existed otherwise.
  
  what areas shpuld he be more progressivd in
  
  He’s been a mixed bag on the environment, opening up more oil and gas leases on federal land (although he did just create a new national monument around the Grand Canyon to create more protected land which was a big win for Arizona tribes and environmentalists). I also wish that he would make a harder voting rights push if only to make the issue more visible even if he can’t do much without congress. And while the border policy is an improvement (not saying much compared to Trump lol), there is still a lot of capricious and arbitrary enforcement against asylum seekers and immigrants that the Biden admin has purposefully continued. Tbf border policy is ultimately something Congress needs to deal with, so it’s not going to see any specific changes for awhile.
  
  Medicare
  Packing the courts
  Regulating student loans
  Providing more urban housing
  Fighting domestic drug use
  Addressing homelessness
  More transit
  Fund schools
  Unions
  
  Are those trillions going into the pockets of Americans? Even calling the student debt relief a win compared to the original promise is disingenuous.
  All I'm saying is: every politician will have a few wins. Normally it's just enough to satiate the base. Biden has done that. But that doesn't make him a progressive and realistically we need more than that, as a country.
  Corpo leader for a corpo country, but it's not where most people actually want to be.
  
  No, I agree those trillions won’t go directly to people and time will tell how well it’s spent. Some of that money has gone to individuals, some has gone to companies and orgs that build things like roads, and some has been and will be skimmed off the top because of course it will be. I think the overall benefits will outweigh the costs and it’s better to do something rather than nothing but who knows.
  Also, he did try to cancel 400b in student debt which was shot down by the conservative Supreme Court, and so he’s used the legal tools he has left to cancel as much as he can.
  Can definitely agree on asking more from our leaders, and I think the good things Biden has done definitely come from the voter base shifting left on a lot of issues, and not because he’s some sort of progressive champion.
  
  OK, yeah. I don't disagree with that.
  Yay for working debate on Lemmy.
  
  It was "shot down" because congress was not allocating the funds he wanted to spend to enact the relief. How dare the court actually uphold the constitution in respect to checks and balances and not let the president use executive power to supersede congressional debates and hearings.
  It's so disingenuous to fight for something because you find it morally right in idea without understanding every nuance of the path it follows. I'd like young adults relieved of the debt economy we're building just as much as anyone else, but not at the expense of our institutional sanctity. Bad precedent is a slope.
  E: meanwhile our dipshit congressmen that wouldn't allow the funds allocated are allowing 40 billion to foreign aid and repeatedly fueling our debt economy. Unironically indict Congress on corruption charges.
  
  40 billion to foreign aid
  It's disingenuous to frame the best defense budget ROI we've seen in decades as "fueling our debt economy".
  Bad precedent is a slope
  I'm not sure you're very up do date on current events of the last century if you think this is setting a precedent.
  
  I've yet to see any return of investment from an entire foreign industrial collapse but sure. I guess the projections of global economic growth going from 5% down to 0.3% is just my imagination.
  
  A lot of those trillions are funding business expansion, which will fund high paying jobs so more of economic stimulus, a bit like the progress administration from the 1930s. But in this case, we are building domestic manufacturing capabilities which will employ people as well as help with decarbonization.
  Business is generally won't get the money unless they spend it, so it is much better than trickle down.

481 comments