Lawmakers should force Biden Administration to define end-state in Ukraine
ARLINGTON, Va.—Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) on Wednesday urged lawmakers to closely scrutinize President Biden’s proposed $33 billion aid package to Ukraine. The supplemental budget request comes as the U.S. faces record inflation and is more than $30 trillion in debt, with interest payments that could outstrip our entire defense budget in a decade. The proposed aid package is in addition to the more than $14 billion in U.S. aid approved by Congress since the beginning of the current conflict, which includes weapons systems that cannot be readily replaced, potentially leaving America in short supply of critical weaponry.
CVA Senior Advisor Dan Caldwell had this to say as Congress considers this package:
“We sympathize with calls to help Ukraine in its current plight, but Congress would be doing both the American and Ukrainian people a disservice if it were to simply rubber stamp President Biden’s proposed $33 billion aid package. Lawmakers should instead ask tough questions – and demand answers – about the administration’s goals in Ukraine and how they are connected to American security. Any future aid package should also be crafted to minimize the risk of escalation and promote a diplomatic resolution.”
“Recently, the Biden Administration expanded U.S. policy aims to include helping the Ukrainian military to achieve ‘victory.’ However, the conditions and requirements to accomplish this result were left undefined. The lack of clarity may create false expectations on the part of the Ukrainian government regarding American support and heightens the risk of further escalation.”
“Russia’s war on Ukraine is immoral and unjustified. Prolonging or expanding the war in Ukraine will only bring more devastation and suffering for the Ukrainian people, leaving them worse off and Americans no safer or more prosperous.”