White House asks Congress for $6.4 billion to resettle tens of thousands of Afghan refugees
The request also includes $14 billion for disaster relief
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The White House is asking Congress for $6.4 billion to resettle tens of thousands of Afghan refugees as part of a request for a short-term spending bill to allow for lawmakers to pass a budget for fiscal year 2022.
Announcing the request, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young said that the majority of the funds will go "to support processing sites overseas and in the United States and U.S. government transportation for our allies and partners between processing sites and the United States" and the proposal also includes funding for humanitarian assistance.
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It includes a request for $2.1 billion for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for costs associated with the evacuation of individuals from Afghanistan.
The request says that without the money, the departments "would be unable to complete evacuation and relocation efforts from Kabul and worldwide midway points; provide subsistence benefits for evacuated Department personnel; provide medical testing, processing through ports of entry, and respond to basic needs requirements of new arrivals; or respond to growing humanitarian needs of vulnerable populations inside Afghanistan and Afghans in neighboring countries."
The White House also requests $1.6 billion for the Refugee Entrant and Assistance account and $8 million for the Children and Families account within the Department of Health and Human Services.
"The operation to move out of danger and to safety tens of thousands of Afghans at risk, including many who helped us during our two decades in Afghanistan, represents an extraordinary military, diplomatic, security, and humanitarian operation by the U.S. Government," Young said.
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The request comes after a frantic effort to get as many U.S. citizens, Afghan allies applying for a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), and others deemed "at risk" out of Afghanistan ahead of the U.S. withdrawal at the end of last month.
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Many refugees are being housed at U.S. military bases in the region and in Europe before being transferred to the U.S., where the Pentagon has said it is opening even more military bases to house those coming to the U.S.
The Pentagon said last month that it would be able to hold up to 50,000 Afghan refugees coming in, and was opening a number of other bases in New Mexico and Virginia.
The Hill reported that senior administration officials told reporters in a call on Tuesday that the funding requested from Congress would allow for 95,000 Afghan refugees to be re-settled in the U.S.
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That would include 65,000 Afghans by the end of September as well as another 30,000 over the next year.
The request also includes $14 billion for disasters before Hurricane Ida.
Fox News’ Hillary Vaughn contributed to this report.