Underdog Lawmaker Blocks Billions More From Funding Ukraine Proxy War
(TargetLiberty.org) – A Republican senator has blocked President Biden’s plan to send a massive $40-billion aid package to Ukraine. In a rare show of bipartisan unity, the plan had been pushed through the Senate by the two party leaders there, and was due to be approved last Thursday. However, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) believes it’s just too much money.
The top Democrat and Republican in the U.S. Senate joined forces in a rare moment of unity on Thursday in an attempt to pass $40 billion in aid for Ukraine, only to be stymied by a single Republican lawmaker: Sen. Rand Paul.https://t.co/ln2wdmiUeS
— Newsmax (@newsmax) May 12, 2022
On May 12, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) joined forces in an attempt to move a bill for $40 billion in aid, mostly military, to Ukraine. The Eastern European country has now been at war for almost three months, since Russia launched an invasion on February 24. Since then weapons, including thousands of US Javelin anti-tank missiles, have been pouring into Ukraine in an attempt to help its military resist the attack.
Now, Biden wants to send even more, arguing the aid needs to be approved by May 19 or he’ll run out of emergency funding. However, Senator Paul is worried about so much money being spent with little accountability. He wants the bill altered, adding a requirement for an inspector-general to scrutinize spending on Ukraine — and he’s refusing to vote for it unless it happens.
There are good reasons for stopping Russian aggression in Ukraine — but there are also good reasons for keeping the money in the US to relieve our cost of living crisis. If we’re going to send money to Ukraine someone needs to account for the spending. Is Paul right to insist on proper oversight of how it’s spent?
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