Lowey Remarks at Press Conference on U.S. Aid to Ukraine

Statement

House Appropriations Committee and State-Foreign Operations Subcommittee Chairwoman Nita M. Lowey (D-NY-17) today delivered the following remarks at a House Ukraine Caucus press conference on U.S. aid to Ukraine:

President Trump's actions are shocking. They are an abuse of power that threatens our national security and undermines our Ukrainian partners.

The new government in Kyiv deserves our support in the face of Russian aggression, not cynical efforts to use their country for partisan political purposes.

As Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, I am particularly outraged that President Trump withheld critical assistance to Ukraine that Congress appropriated on a bicameral, bipartisan basis.

No matter what President Trump thinks, Congress has the power of the purse. The Constitution makes that clear and decades-old laws give the Appropriations Clause force.

President Trump's behavior is wrong. It offends our Constitution. It endangers an ally. And it causes deep damage to our nation's standing in the world.

Unlike his friend Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump is not above the law. We must hold him accountable through the remedy set forth in the Constitution: impeachment proceedings.

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