Washington, D.C. – Today, Representative Matt Rosendale voted against H.R. 7691, the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act. Over $13 billion in aid to Ukraine has already been appropriated to date, in addition to the enactment of new “lend-lease” military aid, which President Biden signed into law just yesterday.
This bloated supplemental spending package will borrow an additional $40 billion to send overseas for questionable and unspecified purposes, including welfare entitlement programs, $54 million to the CDC, and almost a billion dollars for non-specified non-governmental organizations. The bill also provides resettlement assistance containing no specific end date with a vetting process that is “to the satisfaction of” the DHS Secretary.
In effect, H.R. 7691 will send billions of dollars to a foreign nation—a potentially open-ended commitment—without addressing the many issues facing Americans domestically.
“I’m disappointed that Congress still refuses to address the issues that are affecting Americans here at home. Last year, over 100,000 Americans died due to drug overdoses—the majority from fentanyl coming from Mexico,” Representative Rosendale said. “Since President Biden took office, DHS has verified that dozens on the terrorist watch list have entered our country, and we have seen an invasion of over 2.5 million illegal aliens at our Southern border. DHS estimates show the number of illegal crossing apprehensions could more than double to almost 18,000 a day following the lifting of Title 42. Addressing these crises will cost money, but that has not been a priority—let alone a high priority—for the Administration or Congress, which has added trillions of dollars to the national debt over the past couple of years. Congress needs to be a better steward of taxpayer dollars and focus on the safety and wellbeing of Americans before sending more monetary aid abroad."
