Biden Should Allow Taiwan to More Easily Buy Military Products, Lawmakers Say
President Joe Biden should increase the State Department’s foreign military financing budget for FY 2024 to include up to $2 billion in grants for Taiwan, Republicans said in a letter to the White House last week. The letter -- signed by Sens. Jim Risch of Idaho and Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Reps. Michael McCaul of Texas and Mike Rogers of Michigan -- criticized what the lawmakers said have been the administration’s delay of arms sales notifications to Congress and refusal to provide information on Taiwan’s defense needs. The lawmakers said the FY 2023 defense spending bill authorized up to $2 billion in annual FMF grants to Taiwan but “without FMF grants, loans are not enough to address the scale of this challenge.”
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They said the administration should “increase the FMF budget request and allocate a greater share of Function 150 resources toward FMF, including funding for security assistance and training for Taiwan in fiscal year 2024.” The U.S. “must arm and equip Taiwan to make it a stronger and more capable partner -- which will only help the United States’ national and economic security.”
The White House didn't comment.