Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024

Floor Speech

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Mr. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Chair, let me focus on one argument of the sponsor of this amendment, who is basically saying that if we pass this bill, we are advocating the killing of Ukrainians.

That is a uniquely demented way of looking at this war. Putin invades. Putin, as we speak, is bombing and killing Ukrainian civilians. The only thing that is reducing the number that he can kill is the Ukrainians' ability to fight back.

So to look at this from a pure Russian propaganda standpoint, they invade, they bomb, they kill, and it is our fault for helping the Ukrainians defend themselves.

That is the argument here against supporting Ukraine, and it literally makes no sense.

If you want peace, give the Ukrainians the strength to stop Putin. He is the one that will not come to the bargaining table right now because he thinks he is winning. He thinks he can go all the way to Kyiv. He thinks he can take the whole country.

If we give the Ukrainians the ability to stop him, that forces him to the table. It makes no sense to say that giving the Ukrainians the ability to defend themselves is what is killing them, when it is very clearly the Russians that are killing them.

Mr. Chair, I would also note that no President has added more to the debt in one 4-year term than President Trump, and I didn't hear a single Republican complaining about the debt or the deficit during that period of time.

The Ukrainians need our help to bring peace, to stop Putin, to stop what he is trying to do. Also, to Ms. McCollum's point, this also helps our industrial base.

We face a dangerous world between Russia, Iran, China, North Korea-- all of whom who are working together, by the way. If we don't help Ukraine fight Russia, that helps Iran, that helps China, that helps North Korea. This is about our national security, which I am quite confident that whether asleep or awake, the American people also care dearly about.

Please defeat this amendment and support Ukraine and support the United States' national security interests.

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