Two U.S. congressmen have urged the Joe Biden administration to promptly finalize the renewal of the Special Measures Agreement(SMA) with South Korea on sharing the cost of stationing American troops on the Korean Peninsula.

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, California Democrat Ami Bera and Ohio Republican Steve Chabot expressed bipartisan support for expeditiously concluding a mutually acceptable deal before April 1.

Bera and Chabot, chairman and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, said Congress has consistently demonstrated support for the deal so that the allies can focus on key national security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.

The representatives called for the deal to be reached before April 1 to prevent having to place South Koreans employed by the U.S. Forces Korea(USFK) on unpaid furlough.

The congressional call comes as the allies are scheduled to resume negotiations on renewing the Special Measures Agreement(SMA) in Washington on Friday.

The countries came short of finalizing the deal after former U.S. President Donald Trump rejected a tentative agreement for Seoul to increase its 2020 contribution by around 13 percent from the 870 million dollars it paid the previous year.