Ukraine, Zelensky on Capitol Hill but Republicans are obstructing aid
A few hours before visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House and on Capitol Hill in Washington to demand that the United States continue to help Ukraine, a group of Republican lawmakers sent a letter to ask that no more aid be provided. The letter was sent to the White House Management Office and is signed by 23 members of the House of Representatives and six senators, who question the approval of an additional $24 billion in humanitarian and military aid for Ukraine.
In the letter, the legislators recall that since the beginning of the war, the United States has allocated 114 billion dollars in supplementary funds for Ukraine and “countries affected by the situation,” although this amount “does not reflect the full picture, which includes transferred and reprogrammed funds.” “The vast majority of Congress does not yet know how much the United States has spent overall on this conflict so far, information necessary for Congress to prudently exercise its appropriation power.”
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Therefore, they add, The American people “deserve to know what their money was used for” and to know the answers to questions like ‘How is the counteroffensive going? Are the Ukrainians closer to victory than six months ago? What is our strategy and what is the president’s exit plan? What does the administration define as a victory in Ukraine?” “It would be an absurd abdication of congressional responsibility to accept this request without knowing the answers to these questions. For these reasons – and certainly until we receive answers to these and other upcoming questions – we oppose further spending on the war in Ukraine.”
Even if today the majority of Republican representatives and senators are ready to support the ‘green light’, according to Senate rules, only one senator can oppose fast-track legislation, which would slow down the process.
Read also: Zelensky in New York: “Putin like Hitler”. Ukraine, ship departs loaded with wheat
Aid to Ukraine, McCarthy: “No more aid to Kiev in 2023, we have our problems. The president only thinks about Ukraine”
The speaker of the American House, the Republican Kevin McCarthy rules out putting approval of a $24 billion aid package for Ukraine on the agenda by the end of the year, as requested by Joe Biden. “We have our own fiscal problems to deal with. There are 10,000 people who just crossed the border and the president only thinks about Ukraine”, McCarthy said, however describing his meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky as “positive” and “productive”.
In response, Zelensky tries to plead his case in the eyes of “disheartened investors” by making an appeal: “If we don’t get aid, we will lose the war,” Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told the New York Times.
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