The U.S. Congress on Tuesday appeared to be on the cusp of an agreement to allocate billions of dollars in emergency aid for Ukraine, fund the federal government through Sept. 30, and provide resources to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sweeping legislation, awaiting final approval from Democratic and Republican congressional leaders, was expected to provide $1.5 trillion for defense and nondefense discretionary spending, as much as $14 billion to help Ukraine respond to Russia's invasion and about $15 billion for COVID.
"We need to provide them loan guarantees and assurance that they will be able to get a way to backfill the loss of those MiGs for their own security," McConnell told reporters. If Democrats fail to release the legislation on Tuesday, the task of enacting it ahead of the Friday deadline would become more complicated, though not impossible, according to a source familiar with negotiations.