Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Urgent Need To Pass The National Security Supplemental And Provide Much Needed Support For Ukraine

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the floor regarding the urgency to provide aid to the people of Ukraine and the consequences the United States will face if we do not. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

The meeting I had yesterday with President Biden and Congressional leaders over Ukraine was one of the most intense discussions I’ve ever had or witnessed in the Oval Office.

Every single one of us yesterday understood the basic facts: the situation in Ukraine is getting increasingly dire. Russia has made a major advancement by taking the city of Avdiivka – which they did simply because Ukraine was running short on ammo and long-range artillery and basic equipment. It wasn’t the will of the fighters or it wasn’t the lack of plan - it was that they simply ran out of ammunition. Imagine being a brave soldier, fighting for freedom, fighting for your country, and you no longer have the ammo. Without more aid from the United States, Ukraine will lose.

In fact, one American leader over there told me that he wouldn't be surprised if Russian tanks were on the Polish border if we didn't give any aid. What kind of legacy would that leave for the House Republicans, who seem to want to stall that aid? It's not all of them, of course, but too many.

Everyone in the room – with the exception of the Speaker – agreed that Congress must finish the work on the supplemental ASAP, because the future of Ukraine and the West is at stake. Speaker Johnson said he wants to continue to think it over.

I was candid with the Speaker that I hope he gives it careful thought, because the eyes of history are upon him.

I said to the Speaker: if you are the one stopping Ukraine aid, then no matter what the consequences may be in the short term, you will regret your decision two years from now and you could potentially regret it for the rest of your life, because this will be remembered as a turning point for America – for our strength, for our credibility on the world stage, for our national security.  If we don’t provide this aid, then every year the United States could lose out to its enemies – the autocrats of the world: the Putins, the Xis, heads of North Korea and Iran. We could lose out economically, militarily, diplomatically, politically, because of a short sighted decision not to provide the much-needed aid.

The Speaker has a legacy defining decision to make on Ukraine – if he lets this bill move forward, he can go down as a fierce defender of America’s core values. But if he shrinks from the importance of this moment, it will be the greatest gift Putin, other autocrats, and enemies of our country could possibly ask from the American Congress.

###