House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) and 22 House Republicans on Wednesday demanded transparency from federal agencies on billions of taxpayer dollars flowing to Ukraine, a non-NATO nation, after a delegation of Republicans on Tuesday renewed “support to give Ukraine everything that it needs” to fight Russia.
The American taxpayers have so far earmarked more than $113 billion in aid for Ukraine’s struggle against Russia, a conflict based on decades of territorial claims dating back to World War II.
Rep. James Comer (R-KY) chairman of the House Oversight Committee. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“It is critical that government agencies administering these funds ensure they are used for their intended purposes to prevent and reduce the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse,” the 23 House members wrote. “The Committee seeks documents and information to understand how the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of State (State), and the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) are conducting oversight of these funds.”
U.S. President Joe Biden (R) welcomes President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House on December 21, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The members cited the recent corruption in Ukraine as a reason to conduct their audit. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has terminated many top officials amid American aid for allegedly engaging in bribery, using government vehicles for personal use, and purchasing inflated food supplies for Ukrainian forces.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, February 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
One day after the firing of the officials, U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby claimed he saw no “signs that our budgetary assistance has fallen prey to any kind of corruption in Ukraine,” and that all direct budgeted assistance “goes through the World Bank.”
“I would go so far as to say the same on the security assistance side as well,” Kirby said on January 25, 2023.
In the letter, conservative House Republicans pushed back on Kirby’s claims. “Based on Mr. Kirby’s remarks, however, the U.S. National Security Council appears unaware of this corruption scandal, heightening concerns that U.S. agencies are not conducting oversight of taxpayer assistance to Ukraine.”
The demand for transparency comes as Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and four Republican House members visited Ukraine on Tuesday, professing their support for Zelensky’s decision to not negotiate a peace deal.
Zelensky told the lawmakers that American taxpayers should spend more money to fulfill his wish list of military items, including longer-range artillery and costly F-16 fighter jets.
“We talked primarily about what [Zelensky’s] needs are when it comes to winning this war,” McCaul said. “We have strong bipartisan support to give Ukraine everything that it needs to win.”
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
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