HIAS Thankful for U.S. Emergency Funding for Ukraine

SILVER SPRING, Md. — HIAS applauds the United States Congress for including over $4.5 billion in emergency humanitarian assistance for the Ukraine crisis in the omnibus spending bill passed by both the House and Senate this week.

HIAS is pleased Congress included timely and sufficient levels of humanitarian relief funding to help those that have fled to neighboring countries and to those displaced inside Ukraine. The U.S. must do its part in supporting UNHCR and other organizations on the ground providing humanitarian relief to those impacted by the crisis.

“Some of the funding levels in the bill indicate a rare show of bipartisanship and acknowledgement of the crisis at hand,” said Elizabeth Mandelman, HIAS’ senior director for international policy and advocacy. “More funding may be necessary, but this is a good start.”

HIAS is also grateful that the bill includes the renewal of the Lautenberg amendment, which is a crucial first step in helping some Ukrainians reunite with their families in the United States.

HIAS is disappointed, however, that a critical $5 billion global COVID-19 response funding package that would have helped efforts to achieve global vaccine equity was stripped from the fiscal 2022 bill. The bill also does not include any additional funding to support Afghans in the U.S following their evacuation from Afghanistan.

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