The Republican-controlled House is making plans to pressure the Biden administration into explaining the $20B of weapons sent to Ukraine since February. This is when Russia originally invaded the neighboring country, claiming it to have been a special military drill.
So far, there’s been only two in-person inspections of the shipments headed to the country as of November, amounting to only 10% of the total firepower we’ve provided Ukraine with.
Biden’s support for Ukraine will end up costing more than we can afford
The officials tasked with overseeing the procedure are claiming the State Department has a limited budget when it comes to weapons inspectors in the war zone. They say the reason things are done this way is so the US is not seen as directly escalating the war in the area.
FOX NEWS: President Biden's administration is scrambling to track the nearly $20 billion in military aid it has sent to Ukraine as Republicans warn of impending audits when they take control of the House in January.
— Election Wizard 🇺🇸 (@ElectionWiz) November 28, 2022
However, the soon-to-be House Speaker, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, warned there will be no “blank check” for Ukraine, regardless of the situation in the country, especially when we’re dealing with a crisis of our own at the time.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene resonates with McCarthy’s words, teaming up with a group of other Republicans to push an audit into the funds Congress allocated for the war-torn country.
The resolution is said to be introduced when Republicans finally take over the chamber, adding she voted “no” when it came to sending money to Ukraine and there will be additional audits into what’s actually going on in the country.
Why am I not surprised to hear that Biden has “misplaced” $20 BILLION in military aid that he sent to Ukraine?
It’s not like we haven’t been calling for oversight since this whole “WAR” began.
— James Bradley (@JamesBradleyCA) November 28, 2022
Transparent support for Ukraine
The top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Michael McCaul, chimed in on the matter, arguing there’s significant support for the Ukraine aid coming from the GOP House.
He also said there are conditions for accountability when it comes to McCarthy’s “blank check” comment.
McCaul assured while the aid may continue, it will be done in an accountable way, one that is fully transparent to the hardworking people of America, whose taxpayer dollars are going into this effort to stop a war halfway across the world.
Rep. Mike Turned joined in on the discussion, stating he personally told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that support will continue, even after Republicans take control of the House.
US funding for war in Ukraine in 9 months:
Mar: $ 13.6 billion
May: $ 40b
Nov: $ 37.7b: Biden's new requestThat $ 91.3 billion is 33% more than Russia's *total military spending for the year*
It's *double* the US's average annual expenditure for its own war in Afghanistan
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 16, 2022
Turner did end up criticizing Democrats’ way of doing it though, claiming the support will no longer be included in so-called “Democrat bills,” removing the notion of almost $40B being spent to send $8B to Ukraine.
No matter how you look at it, the current level of oversight on the matter is completely insufficient. With the number of goods being sent to the country, it’s our duty to have third-party oversight, as we’ve done previously all over the world.
Former Army Ranger Rep. Jason Crow pushed the House Armed Services Committee to include instructions for auditing Pentagon’s shipments to Ukraine, adding American taxpayers have a right to know the investment is going where it’s intended to go.
