Biden says most of the money he’s seeking for Ukraine would be spent in the United States

MESQUITE, Texas — At a bustling construction site outside of Dallas, there are hopes that Congress can finally pass nearly $95 billion in foreign aid including funding for Ukraine — because factory jobs in the United States depend on that money.

Aerospace and defense company General Dynamics’ new factory in the Dallas suburb of Mesquite is expected to initially employ 150 people to produce munitions. Set to open in June, construction is nearing completion, with newly planted trees and shrubs already in place at the complex overlooking one of the area’s busiest interstates.

“We want to increase our wages and increase our skill levels and job opportunities,” said Kim Buttram, Mesquite’s director of economic development, who added that the factory is expected to have over 300 jobs when it’s at full production.

As President Joe Biden pushes House Republicans to pass needed aid, he wants voters to understand that nearly two-thirds — or nearly $40 billion — of the money for Ukraine would actually go to U.S. factories spread out across the country including plants in Lima, Ohio and Scranton, Pennsylvania as well as Mesquite.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has refused to put the bill up for a vote on the House floor on the premise that it does not meet the needs of the American public.

The supplemental spending measure contains a total of $95 billion in foreign aid, including money for Ukraine, Israel and other countries. Of the $60.7 billion for Ukraine, $38.8 billion would go to U.S. factories that make missiles, munitions and other gear, according to figures provided to The Associated Press by the Biden administration.

“While this bill sends military equipment to Ukraine,” Biden said Tuesday, “it spends the money right here in the United States of America in places like Arizona, where the Patriot missiles are built; and Alabama, where the Javelin missiles are built; and Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Texas, where artillery shells are made.”

The president’s argument challenges criticism by some Republican lawmakers that the federal government should be spending more money at home instead of supporting overseas wars.

In this case, most of the money goes to U.S. companies and workers, funding assembly lines to refill depleted stockpiles of weapons and gear that have already gone to Ukraine.

The Democratic president is openly channeling Franklin Delano Roosevelt and resurrecting the World War II-era concept that America is the “arsenal of democracy.” His sales pitch to the public is that his foreign policy is also about jobs for the U.S. middle class.