Today, May 10th, 2022, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-02) issued the following statement after voting YES on the latest Ukraine aid package:
“The Ukrainian people are fighting every day to protect their homes and families. I am proud to vote to give President Zelensky and his people critical military and humanitarian aid, with even more coming from international organizations. I have consistently voted to assist the Ukrainians and to support them during their time of need.”
Background:
This legislation provides roughly $40 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations to address US military needs and the conflict in Ukraine, including $24 billion in defense-related funding:
- $9 billion to backfill Department of Defense inventories of material transferred to Ukraine and $3.9 billion to support U.S. military operations in Europe.
- $15 million is provided for hardship pay for US troops deployed to the region
- Additional military assistance for Ukraine and other regional partners, such as:
- $6 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative
- $4 billion in Foreign Military Financing to help Ukraine and other regional allies procure US-made weapons
- $8 billion in additional Presidential Drawdown Authority, used to transfer defense equipment to Ukraine
- $15 billion in humanitarian aid and economic assistance, including $7.5 billion to support the Government of Ukraine.
- Includes language specifically encouraging the distribution of humanitarian aid to local and international non-government organizations.
- Provides numerous transparency and accountability safeguards, including accounting, auditing, and cost-matching requirements.
- $119 million for the Departments of Justice and Treasury to investigate and enforce sanctions against Russia, including seizing sanctioned assets, such as luxury superyachts linked to Russian oligarchs.
In March, Miller-Meeks voted to send nearly $14 billion in critical military, economic, and humanitarian assistance to help Ukraine respond to Russian aggression. Miller-Meeks also voted to ban all imports of oil and gas from Russia.
Miller-Meeks was recently sanctioned by the Russian government and has cosponsored several pieces of legislation intended to sanction Russia and the Russian Parliament, including the GUARD Act, the Putin Accountability Act, the American Energy Independence from Russia Act, the Prohibition on Imports of Russian Oil Act, condemning Russia’s actions and calling for an investigation into potential war crimes, the Make Russia Pay Act, the Ban Russian Energy Imports Act, and to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the Defenders of Ukraine.
Original source can be found here
