(PatriotHQ) What? The House passes a bill to spend money on the military, but it funds a foreign army
The House of Representatives just passed the huge $858 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This is a must-pass bill every year that sets how much money will be spent on defense, but whose defense?
Guess what, Ukraine Gets Tens of Million Dollars instead of our military! OMG!
As part of the U.S. effort to help Ukraine defend itself against the ongoing Russian invasion, the bill will also give another $800 million from taxpayer money to the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.
In three big packages, the US has already sent around $68 billion in humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine.
The first aid package sent to Ukraine was worth $13.6 billion. It was part of the $1.5 trillion spending bill for fiscal year (FY) 2022, which was passed as a whole. In May, Congress passed a separate bill that gave $40 billion to Ukraine. Again, more money was sent to Ukraine in September. This time, it was $13.7 billion more.
Even though the amount is less than what Ukraine has received in the past, Americans don’t know how Ukraine is using the money.
Worryingly, there are reports that weapons bought with money from taxpayers have made it as far as Nigeria and into the hands of terror groups.
During a meeting of African leaders, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari said, “The raging war in Ukraine is a major source of weapons and fighters that strengthen the ranks of terrorists in the Lake Chad Region.”
He also said, “A large amount of the weapons and ammunition bought to fight the war in Libya are still making their way to the Lake Chad Region and other parts of the Sahel.” Weapons used in the wars in Ukraine and Russia are starting to make their way to the area.
Because of this, there have been more and more calls from Republicans for an audit of how Ukraine spends tax money.
During a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Dec. 9, Democrats voted against a plan by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to audit the Eastern European country.
Greene said on Twitter after the vote, “The American people deserve full transparency and oversight of where their hard-earned tax dollars have gone, and that’s why we should audit Ukraine.”
“An audit is neither for nor against Ukraine; it’s just what needs to be done.”
The White House asked for an extra $37.7 billion to help Ukraine at the end of November. The $800 million is a far cry from that amount.
The next day, Manchin said this same thing in another statement.
“It is not an option to not pass the bipartisan, all-encompassing energy permitting reform that our country needs so badly. As our energy security is threatened more and more every day, Americans want Congress to put politics aside and act on solutions that make sense.
“The Senate must vote to change the NDAA so that it includes the comprehensive, bipartisan reform of permits that our country needs so badly,” Manchin wrote in a tweet.
But even though both Democrats and Republicans agree that changes need to be made to the way permits are given out, Manchin has had trouble getting the bill passed.
As part of a private deal to get Manchin’s support for the $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act, Schumer told Manchin that permitting reform would be taken up before the end of the year.
Opposition
Both Democrats and Republicans have been against the bill.
Out of the 80 lawmakers who said they didn’t like the bill, 35 Republicans and 45 Democrats were among them.
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Calif.) posted a video to his Twitter explaining why he was one of the 80 members who voted against the package.
Biggs said in a caption for the video, “The 2023 NDAA is too long and has woke parts that don’t improve military readiness.”
He said he was against the bill in part because of how quickly it was brought to the floor and passed through the lower chamber.
“The more than 4,000-page bill was made public only hours before the vote,” Biggs said. “I didn’t vote for this abomination.”
Others said they were against it because it included more money for Ukraine.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said on Twitter, “Our country owes more than $31 TRILLION.” “The NDAA says that the Secretary of the Treasury must try to help Ukraine’s economy and reduce its debt.
“You can’t even make up something like this,” she said.
Many of the Democrats who voted against the bill were left-leaning progressives who have often railed against the fact that the government spends almost $1 trillion a year on defense.
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said in a tweet that she voted “no” because she thought $847 billion would be better spent on people than on the Pentagon.
She said that the bill “kept up a tradition of wasting money on the military.”
Now that the House has passed the bill, it will go to the Senate, where it is likely to pass with support from both parties, even though many members are against parts of the bill.
Still, the bill is a must-pass piece of legislation for the outgoing Congress, and the White House hasn’t ruled out the possibility that Biden will sign it even though it requires people to get vaccines.
But the real question is, “when will Congress stop funding Ukraine instead of our military?” Our sons and daughters need more benefits, care and pay increase, but instead Ukraine gets the cream off the top!
When is enough, enough?
