Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has vowed to prevent the Senate from passing any stopgap government spending bill if it includes funding for additional weapons for Ukraine. Paul’s opposition to additional foreign aid to Ukraine comes as Congressional leaders are working to reach an agreement to pass a continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded past the end of the current fiscal year on Sept. 30. (Related: CNN poll: MAJORITY of Americans do not want taxpayer dollars to fund Ukraine’s war effort.)
“Today I’m putting congressional leadership and [President Joe Biden] on notice that I will oppose any effort to hold the federal government hostage for Ukraine funding,” wrote Paul on Twitter. “I will not consent to expedited passage of any spending measure that provides any more U.S. aid to Ukraine.”
Biden has requested that the spending bill include a provision giving Ukraine an additional $24 billion for security and humanitarian aid. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has even criticized the Republican-controlled House of Representatives for reaching a deal on a continuing resolution that didn’t include funding for Ukraine.
In an opinion piece written for The American Conservative and in a speech on the Senate floor, the Kentucky junior senator reiterated his desire to not provide additional taxpayer dollars to continue the conflict in Ukraine.
In his op-ed, he noted that the United States has already provided over $113 billion in aid to Ukraine, averaging around “$6.8 billion per month – or $223 million per day.” He noted that providing additional taxpayer-funded aid to Ukraine would be sending hard-earned American dollars to “another endless quagmire.” He further called attempts to include Ukraine aid in the continuing resolution a “clear dereliction of duty.”
The opinion piece also derided both Democrat and Republican Senate leaders for “trying to hold the federal government hostage” by demanding the insertion of Biden’s demand for $24 billion in additional taxpayer funding for Ukraine aid.
“Either we fund an endless war in Ukraine or the uniparty will shut down the federal government and make the American people suffer,” he wrote. “This is a clear dereliction of duty, and I will not stand for it.”
On the Senate floor, Paul pointed out how the U.S. deficit is expected to exceed $1.5 trillion, and to provide more funding for Ukraine the government would have to borrow even more money, possibly from adversarial nations like China.
“It’s as if no one has noticed that we have no extra money to send to Ukraine,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that we need to fix in our country before we borrow money to try to perpetuate a war in another country.”
“When will the aid requests, and when will the war end? Can someone explain what victory in Ukraine looks like? President Biden certainly can’t. His administration has failed to articulate a clear strategy or objective in this war, and Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive has failed to make meaningful gains in the east,” Paul added.
Learn more about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine at UkraineWitness.com.
Watch this clip from Fox Business with Sen. Rand Paul explaining why he will stop any spending bill that also provides additional funding for Ukraine. (click screen)
The above video is from the Galactic Storm channel on Brighteon.com.
