KEY VOTE: “No” on the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act (H.R. 8035)

The House is using a Rule to combine four separate foreign aid bills together after each pass the House individually—creating an “emergency” $95 billion foreign aid supplemental package. The Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act accounts for more than half of the funding provided in this package.

Taxpayers have sent more than $113 billion to Ukraine since the start of the conflict—all without responsible accountability measures, a clear understanding of future American commitments, or a path to victory. The additional $58 billion in this bill would bring the total price tag for taxpayers’ to more than $175 billion in just two years.

H.R. 8035 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 and it is not accompanied by a defined end goal, expected U.S. commitment, impacts of drawdown authority, or with significant assurances of further commitments of aid from our European partners. While the bill claims to be considered on its own merits, the Rule governing consideration ties this bill together with aid to other regions of the world, another clear conservative redline.

To date, tens of millions of U.S. dollars sent without guardrails have been stolen by corrupt Ukrainian officials. In January, a Department of Defense Inspector General report found that the U.S. failed to track $1 billion in Ukraine military aid. Last month, a Government Accountability Office report found that the Department of the Defense does not maintain standardized guidance for tracking and reporting weapons deliveries to Ukraine. Additional funds should not be appropriated without such guidance and reporting.

Funding in the bill includes $9.5 billion in “forgivable loans” for Ukraine’s government, infrastructure, and energy sector. It also provides the President with authority to cancel 50% of that debt after Nov. 15, 2024, and then cancel the remaining 50% after January 2026. Further, $7.85 billion of this funding “may include budget support” to Ukraine for salaries and other needs of government employees and soldiers and $50 million more for “food insecurity.” An additional $1.58 billion will support “Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia” as an “emergency requirement.” As a reminder, due to the cost of living crisis created by Congress’ reckless spending, more than 60% of Americans currently live paycheck-to-paycheck and more than 44 million live in “food insecure” households.

By design, H.R. 8053 is nearly identical to the Ukraine aid components in the Senate’s supplemental spending package: failing to prioritize American national interests, lacking accountability for past and future spending, and adding to our soaring national debt.