Support for Emergency Aid
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, as a member of the House Subcommittee on National Security, the Border and Foreign Affairs, I rise in strong support of emergency aid for our Democratic ally and partner and for the people of Ukraine, now entering the third year of their fight for freedom and democracy in the face of the brutal invasion launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2022.
This morning, the United States Senate passed a bipartisan foreign aid package that included vital Ukraine assistance by a wide vote of 70-29.
In stark contrast to this bipartisan effort, the House Republican leadership continues to fall in line behind former President Trump, refusing to act swiftly on Ukraine funding on purely partisan political grounds.
Regrettably, Speaker Johnson has already dismissed the Senate bill as a status quo measure.
Madam Speaker, this is a missed opportunity. Members of this House should have the right to vote on a package of Ukraine funding, Israel funding, and greater security funding for our southern border.
On the issue of Ukraine funding in particular, this political impasse comes at the great expense of U.S. national security, international peace, and the freedom of the Ukrainian people.
It also follows repeated warnings from the Biden administration that the failure to enact additional aid will kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield. It will allow Putin, an autocratic dictator, to prevail and simply pave the way for a Russian military victory.
Even the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee recently reported that with the Ukrainian armed forces now desperately rationing munitions, ``We have to get this done. . . . If we do not move, this will be abandoning Ukraine.''
The Ukrainian people deserve better. They are valiantly defending their country against relentless campaigns of state-sponsored terrorism that the United Nations reports has killed more than 10,000 and injured nearly 20,000 Ukrainian civilians.
The war has also forcibly displaced an estimated 10 million people, including 6.3 million people, Ukrainian refugees, who have fled to neighboring countries.
With Putin vowing to continue this unlawful war until Russia achieves its nationalist and imperialist objectives, I strongly urge my Republican colleagues to abandon their misguided and dangerous deference to Donald Trump.
At a campaign rally this past weekend, the current standard-bearer of the Republican Party actually stated that if one of our 31 NATO allies did not meet their defense spending goals, he would not protect them as President of the United States in honoring our obligations to NATO.
In fact, he said he would encourage Russia `` . . . to do whatever the hell they want.'' He would treat the surrender of millions of Ukrainian people as a transaction.
We must instead be guided by our own founding Democratic principles, enduring defense of freedom and human rights around the world.
Indeed, the House Republican leadership would also be wise to recall their own longstanding commitment to a strong national defense and embrace American global leadership as a bulwark against expansionist schemes undertaken by brutal dictatorships.
The Ukrainian people deserve better. They are defending their country against a relentless campaign of state-sponsored terrorism that the United States reports has killed more than 10,000 people.
`` . . . people are at last free to determine their own destiny,'' said Ronald Reagan, who also demanded of Putin's President, Mr. Gorbachev, ``Tear down this wall.'' He was a defender of a free and democratic Europe.
I recently returned from a bipartisan delegation to Ukraine where I met with President Zelenskyy and examined the security and humanitarian situation on the ground. There is zero evidence that the Government of Ukraine is directing resources anywhere but toward its singular goal of preserving Ukrainian sovereignty and independence.
I urge my colleagues to support additional aid for Ukraine.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source