“And let me be clear about something: We send Ukraine equipment sitting in our stockpiles. And when we use the money allocated by Congress, we use it to replenish our own stores − our own stockpiles with new equipment − equipment that defends America and is made in America,” US President Joe Biden said in a prime-time address earlier this month when discussing his administration’s foreign policy strategy in the wake of the war in the Middle East.
For the president, lending allies a hand is a win for America. As he urges Congress for tens of billions of dollars in additional support for Ukraine and now for Israel, he has always made it clear that the equipment shells being sent overseas are helping local economies.
Even so, this economic populism (which is not unique to Biden; noted protectionist Donald Trump pushed the same line) is negligible in legislative impact. A standalone bill for Israeli aid would likely pass both chambers easily. A standalone Ukraine bill would likely squeak by as well despite large swathes of GOP opposition. While it may not make the headlines, the $44 billion America has committed to Ukraine will give a huge bump to America’s native defense industry, providing hundreds of jobs and property tax revenue.
Indeed, Biden’s stance is also one with a keen awareness of whom he needs to court in the 2024 election. He name-checked Arizona and Pennsylvania in his speech, two battleground states crucial to his 2020 victory.
“You know, just as in World War II, today patriotic American workers are building the arsenal of democracy and serving the cause of freedom,” Biden said, invoking the economic explosion of activity during that conflict.
While we’re not in the 1940s anymore, successful aid packages may give Americans a greater sense of what domestic arms production can do. For now, Biden’s argument is lost in the political weeds.
