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$33 billion
President Biden will ask Congress for $33 billion to help the Ukrainians fight Russia’s invasion, the Washington Post reports. “Biden’s funding request includes $20 billion in military assistance for Ukraine, $8.5 billion in economic assistance and $3 billion in humanitarian aid, among other pots of money, such as $500 million to support production of U.S. crops to address the global food shock caused by the war.”
“Other bribe suggestions: Forgive auto loans? Forgive credit card debt? Forgive mortgages? And put a wealth tax on the super-rich to pay for it all. What could possibly go wrong?”
— Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) said President Biden consideration of forgiving student loan debt is a sign of desperation.
$100 million
“The Biden administration Tuesday night pledged $100 million in defense aid for Ukraine to be used for Javelin anti-tank missiles,” NBC News reports.
“The Biden White House is famously leak-proof (in sharp contrast to Trump’s White House). This deprives the public of valuable information, such as who is pushing Biden into foolish stridency. But the worst effect is probably on the White House itself. For one thing, leaks of policy changes can be badly-needed trial balloons. … In general, if everybody knew who was pushing what policy—and who were the internal opponents—it would be easier for influential non-insiders to weigh in and steer policy in more sane directions.”
$32 billion
President Biden will propose more than $32 billion in new spending to fight crime, putting a price tag on his State of the Union call to fund — not defund — the police, Axios reports.
39%
A new Emerson College poll finds 83% of voters say they are experiencing some hardship due to increased prices on everyday items, with 40% reporting significant hardship, and another 43% reporting some hardship. When asked about who they blame for an increase in gas prices, 39% blame the Biden Administration, 21% blame the sanctions on Russia, and 18% blame gas and oil companies.
“In the end, the State of the Union is just a speech. The impact is often overstated and the politics over-analyzed. But the speech given by the President last night tells me he and his team understand the cause of their political problems and have a plan to address them.”
$30 billion
“The Biden administration is telling Congress that it needs an additional $30 billion to press ahead with the fight against Covid-19,” the AP reports.Politico: “While the administration anticipates it has enough vaccines and therapeutics to ride out the Omicron surge, three people with knowledge of the matter said the government doesn’t currently have enough money to respond if another dangerous variant emerges.”
4.6%
“Federal employees and military service members would receive average raises of 4.6 percent next January under the budget President Biden will propose in March, marking what would be the workforce’s largest salary hike in two decades,” the Washington Post reports.
49%
A new Gallup poll finds that across 46 countries and territories, median approval of U.S. leadership stood at 49% under President Biden.
This rating is up from the 30% median approval at the end of Donald Trump’s presidency and matches the rating during former President Barack Obama’s first year in office in 2009.
