WASHINGTON – The White House on Friday asked Congress for nearly US$106 billion (S$145.5 billion) to fund ambitious plans for Ukraine, Israel and US border security, but offered no strategy for securing the money from a broken Congress.

US President Joe Biden’s request for the funding comes days after he visited Israel and pledged solidarity as the country bombards Gaza following an attack by Hamas militants that killed 1,400 people in southern Israel.

By grouping Israel funding with Ukraine, border security, refugee assistance, measures to counter China and other hotly debated priorities, Mr Biden is hoping he has created a must-pass national security spending Bill that can win support in a chaotic House of Representatives.

The chamber, which Republicans won control of in 2022, has been without a leader for more than two weeks.

Some Republican lawmakers have grown sceptical about the need to fund Ukraine’s war with Russia, and have threatened to halt government altogether to put an end to debt-fuelled fiscal spending.

“The world is watching and the American people rightly expect their leaders to come together and deliver on these priorities,” said Mr Biden’s budget director, Ms Shalanda Young, in a letter to Acting House Speaker Patrick McHenry.

“I urge Congress to address them as part of a comprehensive, bipartisan agreement in the weeks ahead.”

In a call with reporters, Ms Young said the role of the White House is to lay out the country’s needs and the stakes, not to meddle in the speakership battle.

Some US$14.3 billion of the funding for the 2024 fiscal year would be dedicated to Israel, much of it to support the country’s air and missile defence systems and other weapons purchases.

Israel has vowed to wipe out Hamas, which rules Gaza, after the Islamist militant group’s Oct 7 attack.

Mr Biden also wants more than US$9 billion for humanitarian relief, including for Israel and Gaza, where the population faces a worsening humanitarian crisis.

The proposal includes US$13.6 billion for US border security to deal with large numbers of Latin American and Caribbean immigrants at the southern border, fentanyl trade, and US$4 billion in military assistance and government financing designed to counter China’s regional efforts in Asia.

But the largest share of funding, US$61.4 billion, would be for Ukraine.

The request includes billions to replenish the country’s military equipment, providing economic and security aid and support for refugees in the United States. REUTERS