KEY VOTE: “No” on the Senate Foreign Aid Supplemental Appropriations Package

The Senate’s “emergency” supplemental funding bill of more than $90 billion in unaccountable, deficit-financed spending on foreign aid is a non-starter.

Taxpayers have sent more than $113 billion to Ukraine since the start of the conflict—all without responsible accountability measures or a clear understanding of future American commitments. The additional $62.3+ billion would bring the taxpayers’ total to more than $175 billion in less than two years. This bill violates the responsible principles consistently laid out by conservatives for considering additional aid to Ukraine: There is no public accounting of the expended military and economic aid, it is not being considered on its own, and the administration has not articulated the end goal, expected U.S. commitment, impacts of drawdown authority, and assurances of further commitments from our European partners.

Worse, this funding includes $7.85 billion “which may include budget support” to Ukraine for salaries and other needs of government employees and soldiers and $50 million more for “food insecurity.” It provides $5.65 billion “to address humanitarian needs in response to the situations in Israel and Ukraine, including the provision of emergency food and shelter.” An additional $1.58 billion will support “Europe, Eurasia and Central Europe” as an “emergency requirement.” $3.5 billion will meet the humanitarian needs of “refugees in response to the situations in Israel and Ukraine.” Lastly on Ukraine aid, the bill provides a component of the World Bank $250 million.

The nearly $16.5 billion for Israel and the Middle East should be focused on military capabilities that are in the security interests of the United States—not paired with earmarks for various so-called “humanitarian” initiatives that may fund Hamas terrorist activities. Unfortunately, it is clear that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)—the main UN agency delivering such aid—was captured by and actively funded Hamas terrorists. While this bill prohibits funding through UNRWA, the problem of aid diversion to Hamas and other terrorist groups plagues all international and NGOs operating in Gaza. It is therefore highly likely that taxpayer funded humanitarian aid to Gaza would again be diverted to support Hamas attacks. As a major non-NATO ally with decades of deep and lasting friendship with the United States, our support for Israel should not be conditioned on problematic humanitarian aid and additional Ukraine funds.

Despite some funding for the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) and security assistance for Taiwan, this bill does not prioritize the Indo-Pacific. In a show of misprioritization, the $4.8 billion funding allocated for the Indo-Pacific is only a small fraction of the bill’s total $93+ billion price tag. Authorization for the use of Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) to arm Taiwan is the most effective way to support Taiwan quickly—and this funding is therefore a step forward—but there is nothing in the bill to prevent the administration from diverting weapons to Ukraine, even if Taiwan requires them as well. This bill continues the administration’s policy of prioritizing arming Ukraine over Taiwan.