Republicans prepare list of conditions for further Ukraine aid
Republican Mike Garcia and his colleagues have sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden in which they put forward a number of conditions for his administration regarding further assistance to Ukraine.
That's according to a press release posted on Garcia's website, Ukrinform reports.
"Israel and Ukraine must both be victorious, that much is clear. However, the American taxpayers have become weary of funding a never-ending stalemate in Ukraine with no vision for victory. To reassure Americans, we have identified twelve reasonable and rational conditions that must be addressed before a single dollar is sent to Ukraine," the statement reads.
The Republicans said one of the conditions was that Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "must provide the U.S. Congress with an actual win strategy," with a clear idea of how Ukraine will win and how long it will take, to "understand the end-state goal and exit criteria."
According to the letter, Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin need to clearly update the American people on the status of the war in Ukraine. This includes informing the public on Ukrainian progress to date, outlining causal factors for the current stalemate, and providing a status update on the "spring counteroffensive."
According to Garcia, President Biden and Secretary Austin must explain why future U.S. investments are necessary. They must also explain what would happen if American investments into Ukraine cease and to answer whether EU and NATO countries would abandon their efforts, and whether Ukraine would be able to stand and win without the help of allies.
Republicans are demanding that U.S. Treasury and Commerce report to Congress with the level of enforcement and compliance of already approved sanctions against Russia. The U.S. and all NATO members should adopt a full-sanction policy against Russia to include all oil, grain, and rare earth minerals.
Republicans are asking Biden to clarify whether the U.S. and Ukraine have alignment on the mission objectives regarding Crimea and whether the U.S. believes the desire of Ukraine to reclaim Crimea is realistic.
The letter calls on Biden and Zelensky to continue providing Congress with a full accounting of weapons systems that have been sent and used to date.
The letter says Biden must provide a commitment and evidence to the fact that his administration "is not jeopardizing" the schedule and cost of critical domestic weapon programs or the commitments that the U.S. has made to Taiwan FMS programs and Israel FMF programs.
"Until your [Biden] administration has satisfactorily met these conditions, funding for Ukraine should not be considered in Congress. For this reason, it is critical that you publicly request that funding for the defense of Israel be considered standalone on its own merits. Failure to make such a request would lead to your actions further endangering Israel during one of the most dangerous conflicts since its founding," the letter reads.
House Republicans earlier introduced a separate $14.3 billion aid package for Israel contrary to the White House's $106 billion emergency funding request that included money for Israel, Ukraine, border security and allies in the Indo-Pacific.