Biden Announces Move to Forgive Roughly $4.7 Billion Loan to Ukraine

A battle is taking place on Capitol Hill this week after the State Department announced The Biden administration is planning to forgive roughly $4.7 billion that it loaned to Ukraine. Many lawmakers are not pleased with the announcement, noting part of the funds to Ukraine were solely in the form of a loan.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters, “Some of that economic assistance was provided in the form of loans, and we had the option under the bill to cancel that – those loans at our discretion,” Miller said on Wednesday. “So we have taken the step that was outlined in the law to cancel those loans.”

Miller explained that although the Biden administration is doing so under congressional approval, Congress could pass a resolution to stonewall Biden officials from forgiving the debt.

Some lawmakers are already attempting to do so, reports the Daily Caller: “Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie introduced a resolution on Wednesday to block Biden from forgiving the loan, though it will need enough votes in both the House and the Senate to be passed.”

“On his way out, Joe Biden is trying to forgive $4.65 billion of debt Ukraine owes America’s taxpayers,” Massie said on Wednesday, adding that he introduced the bill “to stop this ‘America Last’ policy from taking effect.”

Lawmakers in Congress passed the roughly $60 billion Ukraine aid package in April, including approximately $10 billion in loans, which Kyiv would technically be obligated to pay back. But the bill included a provision that allowed the debt to be forgiven completely by 2026.

The decision to forgive part of Ukraine’s debt is part of Biden’s effort for the U.S. to support Kyiv as much as he can before he leaves office in just months. Just days before, reports emerged that Biden had given Ukraine the green light to start using U.S.-provided long-range missiles to strike targets deep inside Russian territory.

“That move surprised some national security experts, given the Biden administration has been hesitant for years to allow Ukraine to use the missiles for such purposes. The administration had previously expressed concern that allowing Ukraine to use U.S.-provided long-range missiles for strikes inside Russia would only escalate the war without providing Ukraine with any tangible strategic advantage” adds the Daily Caller.

The Biden administration also recently allowed Ukraine to scatter U.S.-provided antipersonnel mines across its countryside, as was reported on Wednesday, despite the mines being subject to international scrutiny given the risk they pose to civilians.