WASHINGTON – Today, Heritage Action, a conservative grassroots organization with two million grassroots activists, released a statement from Executive Director Jessica Anderson ahead of the U.S. Senate’s vote on H.R. 7691, the Ukraine Supplemental Aid Package.
Congress’ first responsibility is to care for the American people and protect their interests. That duty must include a strong national defense and protecting American interests abroad.
Unfortunately, the $40 billion Ukraine spending package misses the mark on both. It falls short of advancing American interests at home or protecting them abroad. This rushed bill is yet another reminder of Washington’s broken system and a disappointment to the American people who expect more.
Strong American leadership abroad requires a comprehensive strategy, accountability and oversight for the direction of American aid – not blank checks to fully fund foreign governments and their pension systems. A good bill would be reasonable in size and scope, ensure our European partners contribute the same amount, if not more, include offsets for spending, and provide accountability through both initial oversight measures and clawback provisions.
From the beginning of his administration, President Biden’s foreign policy blunders have weakened the United States’ global position. Now, two years in, Biden and Democrats in Congress are trying to force a bloated $40 billion Ukraine package through the Senate.
We call on the Senate to go back to the drawing board and put forth a narrow package with accountability measures that solely focuses on the hard defense needs of Ukraine.
Background:
- Last week, Heritage Action highlighted criticisms of the Ukraine spending package ahead of the U.S. House of Representative’s vote on the proposal.
As Heritage Action referenced, the bill fails to include several important oversight provisions, including any accountability measures for where each dollar will be spent. Additionally, over $7 billion of the spending will "provide liquidity and general support to the government of Ukraine." This could include paying the salaries of Ukrainian government employees and civil service pensions. - While the legislation reaches almost $40 billion in spending, the bill does not contain any offsets.
- The legislation comes after Congress has already approved over $13 billion in emergency spending for Ukraine, which included traditional foreign aid, military supplies, U.S. military deployments and intelligence, and money to enforce sanctions.
Resources:
- Heritage Foundation expert Matt Dickerson: Congress Must Carefully Review Any Ukraine Spending Package.
- Heritage’s James Carafano in Fox News: Bloated House $40 billion Ukraine aid package puts Americans last.
- Heritage Foundation expert Luke Coffey: What the U.S. Must Do Immediately to Support Ukraine.