Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Importance Of Passing A Bipartisan National Security Supplemental
Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on the importance of passing a bipartisan national security supplemental. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:
Senate negotiators continue their work on finalizing an agreement for a national security supplemental.
At a time of growing crisis around the world, our supplemental package is America’s answer to this decisive moment in world history. The world stands at a crossroads: the war happening in Ukraine is not just between one nation defending itself against another, but between tyranny and democracy itself.
The Ukraine war is a conflict of history-altering importance. It could reset the balance of power for Western democracies that has endured since the end of the Cold War.
Now, the Ukraine war has not been in the news as much lately with so much going on in Gaza and at the border and so many other things, but that does not mean nothing is happening in Ukraine. Right now, Ukrainian solders remain determined, but Russian soldiers are beginning to have an advantage as ammunition is starting to run out for Ukraine.
So, passing the supplemental will be America’s signal to the world that we will hold the line, not just to defend democracy in Europe, but to defend our friends in Israel, to deliver critical aid for innocent civilians in Gaza, humanitarian aid across the world, and to outcompete the Chinse Communist Party in the Indo-Pacific.
And we must keep moving quickly here in the Senate, because Ukraine stands at a dangerous moment in its war against Putin. Ukrainian fighters remain determined and have not lost their resolve to defend their homeland. But what they are losing are ammunition and armaments, which America has played a leading role in providing. That aid is running out, much to Putin’s delight.
Every Senator needs to understand the stakes: if the Senate does not approve more aid to Ukraine, the war – which is already trending in Russia’s direction – could a month from now dramatically shift in Russia’s favor. It is only trending in Russia's direction now because of the lack of armaments. As I quoted yesterday, a Ukrainian officer said that for every five salvos the Russians fire at his troops, he can only fire one salvo back.
A Russian victory in Ukraine would commence an ominous domino effect across the European continent of expanded Russian influence. That is not a world any of us want to return to.
In generations past, Democrats and Republicans would have bent heaven and Earth to stand up to Russian dictators. We would have balked at showing weakness to autocratic thugs who invade their neighbors and hope for America’s demise.
We find ourselves at a new moment in history where democracy is under siege yet again. We heard directly from President Zelenskyy a few weeks ago about what’s at stake if we fail. So fail we must not.
It is therefore essential that we finish the work of passing the supplemental. It is one of the hardest things the Senate has done in a very long time, but for the sake of our national security, of our friends abroad, of our fundamental values, we must stay the course.
Of course there are many difficulties with the supplemental, but we must keep our eye on the ball. We must get this done: Ukraine hangs in the balance.
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