Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Urgent Need To Provide National Security Aid

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on the urgent need to provide aid to Ukraine, Israel, the South Pacific, and humanitarian assistance. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Right now, the world is in desperate need of American leadership. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Iran’s attack on Israel, and the Chinese government’s encroachments on the South Pacific threaten world peace, threaten America’s prosperity, and threaten the very future of Western democracy.

That’s why two months ago, the Senate passed a bipartisan national security supplemental with aid for Ukraine, for Israel, for the South Pacific, and for humanitarian assistance. We have called on the House of Representatives repeatedly to move on our bill, because the fastest way for Congress to get desperately-needed aid to our allies is for House Republicans to put the supplemental on the floor. It would pass. That was true two months ago, it’s still true today. 

Yesterday evening, Speaker Johnson laid out a process for House consideration of the supplemental that would break it up into separate parts.

I am reserving judgment on what will come out of the House until we see more about the substance of the proposal and the process by which the proposal will proceed. Hopefully we will get details of the Speaker’s proposal later today. Again, time is of the essence.

Israel was attacked for the first time in its history directly by Iran. The people of Ukraine are now in all-out desperation. In fact, last week the head of U.S. European Command testified before the House Armed Services Committee that Russia’s army is now 15% larger than it was at the start of the war. And in a matter of weeks, Russia will outgun Ukraine by ten to one. Ten to one – that’s not a very good prospect for Ukraine’s survival. And anyone who thinks that war in Ukraine will stay in Ukraine, remember the warning of Japanese Prime Minister Kishida: “Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow.”

Around the world, civilians caught in the crossfires of war await desperately needed humanitarian assistance.

So, the time for delay is over. Democrats have shown repeatedly our willingness to compromise to get important things done. And I will remind everyone of what I said from the beginning of this Congress: the only way to get things done is in a bipartisan way.

So once again, we await to see more details of the Speaker’s proposal. I urge him to keep working in a bipartisan way to ensure this vital aid gets to our friends abroad as quickly as possible.

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