[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




 
                       MARKUP OF VARIOUS MEASURES

=======================================================================

                                 MARKUP

                               BEFORE THE

                      COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                               __________

                            DECEMBER 6, 2022

                               __________

                           Serial No. 117-142

                               __________

        Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
        
        
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             U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 
 51-550PDF              WASHINGTON : 2023
                     
                       
                       
                       
                       

                      COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS

                  GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York, Chairman

BRAD SHERMAN, California             MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas, Ranking 
ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey                  Member
GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia         CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey
THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida          STEVE CHABOT, Ohio
KAREN BASS, California               JOE WILSON, South Carolina
WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts       SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania
DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island        DARRELL ISSA, California
AMI BERA, California                 ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois
JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas                LEE ZELDIN, New York
DINA TITUS, Nevada                   ANN WAGNER, Missouri
TED LIEU, California                 BRIAN MAST, Florida
SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania             BRIAN FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania
DEAN PHILLIPS, Minnesota             KEN BUCK, Colorado
ILHAN OMAR, Minnesota                TIM BURCHETT, Tennessee
COLIN ALLRED, Texas                  MARK GREEN, Tennessee
ANDY LEVIN, Michigan                 ANDY BARR, Kentucky
ABIGAIL SPANBERGER, Virginia         GREG STEUBE, Florida
CHRISSY HOULAHAN, Pennsylvania       DAN MEUSER, Pennsylvania
TOM MALINOWSKI, New Jersey           CLAUDIA TENNEY, New York
ANDY KIM, New Jersey                 AUGUST PFLUGER, Texas
SARA JACOBS, California              PETER MEIJER, Michigan
KATHY MANNING, North Carolina        NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS, New York
JIM COSTA, California                RONNY JACKSON, Texas
JUAN VARGAS, California              YOUNG KIM, California
VICENTE GONZALEZ, Texas
BRAD SCHNEIDER, Illinois             MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR, Florida


                                     
                                      Sophia Lafargue, Staff Director
                                     Brendan Shields, Republican Staff Director
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                             C O N T E N T S
                                     


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                                 BILLS

H. RES. 1456.....................................................     2
H. RES. 1482.....................................................     7

                                APPENDIX

Hearing Notice...................................................    29
Hearing Minutes..................................................    30
Hearing Attendance...............................................    31

                             RECORDED VOTES

Recorded votes...................................................    32

            BILLS, AMENDMENTS, AND AMENDMENTS TO AMENDMENTS

Bills, Amendments, and Amendments to Amendments..................    33

                       STATEMENTS FOR THE RECORD

Statement for the record from Representative Connolly............    92
Statement for the record from Representative Houlahan............    94

                             MARKUP SUMMARY

Markup Summary...................................................    96


                       MARKUP OF VARIOUS MEASURES

                       Tuesday, December 6, 2022

                          House of Representatives,
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs,
                                                    Washington, DC.

    The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 5:38 p.m., in 
room 2118, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Gregory Meeks 
(chairman of the committee) presiding.
    Chairman Meeks. The Committee on Foreign Affairs will now 
come to order. And without objection, the Chair is authorized 
to declare a recess of the Committee at any point. Pursuant to 
Committee Rule 4, the Chair may postpone further proceedings on 
approving any measure or matter or adapting an amendment. And 
without objection, all members will have 5 days to submit 
statements or extraneous materials on today's business.
    To insert statements into the record, please have your 
staff email them to the previously circulated address or 
contact full Committee staff.
    As a reminder, please keep your video function on at all 
times, even when not recognized by the Chair. Members are 
responsible for muting and unmuting themselves. And consistent 
with House rules, staff will only mute members as appropriate 
when they are not under recognition to eliminate background 
noise.
    I see we have a quorum, and we intend to consider six 
measures during this markup. But before I begin, I want to take 
a moment to express my sincere gratitude to my colleagues for 
entrusting me with this very awesome responsibility of chairing 
this committee. Serving as Chair has been an enormous 
privilege, and working to strengthen U.S. leadership throughout 
the world and responding to some of the most complex 
international issues of our time has been an opportunity of a 
lifetime and working with all of my colleagues, both sides of 
the aisle, Democrats, as well as my Republican colleagues, and 
particularly working alongside Mike McCaul. It has been an 
honor and a privilege, and I look forward to continuing to work 
together when we move forward in the next Congress.
    And I'll have additional remarks I'd like to make before we 
conclude the markup and proceedings, but we'll be able to table 
them until the end so that we may consider two resolutions of 
inquiry that have been introduced and that are time-sensitive 
in nature. So we'll do that now.
    So pursuant to Notice for Purposes of Markup, I will begin 
by calling up H. Res. 1456.
    [The Bill H. Res. 1456 follows:]

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    Chairman Meeks. And the Clerk will report the resolution.
    Ms. Hallman. House Resolution 1456, Of inquiry requesting 
the----
    Chairman Meeks. Without objection, the first reading of the 
resolution is dispensed with. And without objection, the 
resolution shall be considered as read and open to amendment at 
any point. And at this time, I recognize myself to speak 
briefly on the measure.
    Today, we're marking up two resolutions of inquiry, ROIs, 
that, unfortunately, like other ROIs introduced in this 
Congress, I believe they aim to score political points and 
dangerously politicize issues that should be well above the 
partisan fray. The first is H. Res. 1546, requesting the 
President and directing the Secretary of State to transmit 
respectively certain documents to the House of Representatives 
related to the conclusion of the Department of State on whether 
Marc Fogel is wrongfully detained.
    So let's be clear. The Department's review of possible 
wrongful detention criteria in Mr. Fogel's case is ongoing, as 
are efforts to ensure his fair, humane treatment and to secure 
his release on humanitarian grounds. A formal determination of 
wrongful detention is not required for these efforts to unfold.
    This Committee takes extremely seriously its oversight of 
the State Department's work on behalf of Marc Fogel, as well as 
other Americans imprisoned overseas. And, thankfully, this work 
has long been bipartisan, as we all want to see American 
citizens like Mr. Fogel reunited safely with their families.
    As such, the Committee and the House have held more than 
dozen engagements where Mr. Fogel's case has been specifically 
addressed. Likewise, the State Department continues to push 
Russian authorities for his release on humanitarian grounds. 
The State Department simultaneously is reviewing the facts of 
this case to determine whether he is wrongfully detained, as 
required by the Levinson Act.
    Just this week, the State Department provided Committee 
staff another detailed briefing on Mr. Fogel's case, including 
an update of a recent prison visit to verify his well-being and 
details of State's ongoing efforts to secure his release on 
humanitarian grounds, work which continues notwithstanding any 
formal wrongful detention determination.
    But in pushing for more transparency on this case from the 
Administration, we cannot lose site of the bigger picture. We 
must take care not to politicize the issue or tip the U.S. 
government's negotiating hand by exposing sensitive intern of 
the liberation of these cases. Putin, Xi, and other autocrats 
around the world would like nothing more than to see us divided 
over efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of our own 
citizens and to be able to leverage sensitive details of 
individual cases and our internal deliberative processes.
    So while it may be well-intentioned, this ROI risks 
undermining the safety of American's held abroad. It would 
likewise potentially undermine our ability to bring Marc Fogel 
and others home.
    Unfortunately, this ROI breaks from the bipartisan 
bicameral work we have already undertaken to focus constructive 
attention on Mr. Fogel's case, and, instead, it politicizes the 
issue, putting the internal ongoing work on his case out into 
the open for a partisan fight. I have no doubt the Kremlin 
would love nothing more than to be able to exploit such a 
scenario.
    The Republican co-sponsors of this resolution have 
previously engaged in constructive bipartisan oversight with 
the executive branch on Mr. Fogel's case, including with 
members of this Committee. And I urge them to rejoin such 
efforts. For me, it's disappointing to see this serious issue 
become subject to partisan games.
    So with concern for Mr. Fogel's well-being and with a 
laser-like focus on getting him and other Americans detained in 
Russia home, I oppose this ROI and will be calling a vote to 
report it adversely.
    And now I turn to Ranking Member McCaul for any statements 
he may have.
    Mr. McCaul. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And let me, on your 
previous remarks, say what an honor it's been to serve with 
you, you as Chairman. You've handled yourself very 
professionally with a good deal of sense of humor, which is 
required, I think, at times. And you've always been fair and 
bipartisan, and that's a tradition of this Committee, and we 
intend to continue that. And it's, again, been a real honor 
working with you. So thank you for that.
    And now I'm going to have to be partisan. I like to be 
bipartisan, but this ROI requires the Secretary of State to 
turn over records concerning Marc Fogel, a 60-year-old American 
teacher who currently is detained in the IK-2 labor camp north 
of Moscow. It's imperative that Congress receives these 
records, even if it is in a classified setting. Congress wrote 
the Levinson Act for the explicit purpose of providing 
assistance to U.S. citizens taken hostage by foreign 
governments. We laid out explicit criteria for the State 
Department to use when deciding whether Americans are being 
unlawfully or wrongfully detained.
    We owe Marc Fogel and his family a real determination, not 
tomorrow or next week but now. Marc Fogel was arrested by 
Russian authorities in August 2021. Every case is different, 
and I understand that there's no statutory mandated time line. 
But almost a year and a half has gone by. We are all, 
Republicans and Democrats alike, outraged by Putin's use of 
Paul Whelan and Brittany Griner as political pawns in his game.
    The Department made a relatively swift determination 
regarding their wrongful detentions. However, Marc and his 
family deserve answers. And I acknowledge that the Department 
has not ignored this case and that Consular Affairs, SPEHA, and 
the European Bureau are having regular deliberations. But this 
ROI would allow Congress to better understand those 
deliberations in realtime and gain access to the information 
that's being considered when weighing the Levinson Act factors.
    So with that, I support this ROI, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
    Chairman Meeks. Do any other members wish to speak on the 
measure? Hearing no further requests, let's move on to 
amendments. Do any members wish to offer any amendments? 
Hearing none, we will now take a vote by voice.
    The question is to report H. Res. 1456 adversely. To 
clarify, if you share my position to the resolution, you will 
vote aye. We are going to take a vote by voice. All members 
please unmute your microphones. All those in favor say aye.
    (Chorus of aye.)
    Chairman Meeks. All opposed no.
    (Chorus of nos.)
    Chairman Meeks. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have 
it. And without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid 
upon the table. And without objection, staff is authorized to 
make any technical and conforming changes.
    Next, we will consider H. Res. 1482.
    [The Bill H. Res. 1482 follows:]

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    Chairman Meeks. Pursuant to Notice for Purposes of Markup, 
I now call up H. Res. 1482, and the Clerk will report the 
resolution.
    Ms. Hallman. House Resolution 1482, Of Inquiry requesting 
the President and directing the----
    Chairman Meeks. Without objection, the first reading of the 
resolution is dispensed with. And without objection the 
resolution shall be considered as read and open to amendment at 
any point. And at this time, I recognize myself to speak 
briefly on the measure.
    This second ROI is H. Res. 1482, requesting the President 
and directing the Secretary of State to transmit respectively 
certain documents to the House of Representatives relating to 
congressional appropriated funds to the Nation of Ukraine from 
January 20th, 2021 to November 15th, 2022.
    Now, I, unfortunately, cannot find any, any reasonable 
justification for the ROI introduced by Representative Marjorie 
Taylor Greene and other American alone extremists. The goal of 
this ROI could not be more transparent. It is to divide us 
politically and undermine strong bipartisan support for 
Americans' efforts supporting Ukrainian freedom and 
sovereignty. This measure plays straight directly, directly to 
Vladimir Putin's hands. That's exactly what he's been waiting 
for, exactly what he's been looking for.
    From day one, this Committee and the entire Congress has 
remained resolutely bipartisan in our support for Ukraine as it 
fights against Russia's illegal invasion. It is this 
bipartisanship that has been pivotal to Ukraine's success, and 
it is helping them win. Acknowledging the unprecedented nature 
of the aid we are providing, the Administration is fulfilling 
its duty to spend every U.S. taxpayer dollar in a transparent 
and accountable way and to keep Congress informed at each and 
every step in the process.
    Since February, the Administration has engaged with members 
and staff on no less than 50 occasions. Our brave diplomats 
working in a war zone in Kiev have gone to painstaking lengths 
to track, monitor, and evaluate U.S. assistance. The 
Administration, meanwhile, is cooperating fully and openly with 
an interagency task force of three inspector generals from 
State, DoD, and USAID to monitor, to track, and account for the 
totality of assistance provided to Ukraine. At every turn, the 
departments, agencies, and OIGs have kept this Committee and 
the Congress more broadly and appropriately briefed and 
informed.
    In October, the Administration further expanded and 
integrated ongoing monitoring and accountability efforts to 
ensure close tracking and transparency of all security 
assistance provided to Ukraine and additional support to 
neighboring States to bolster border security and counter 
political diversions or illicit transfers.
    Moreover, President Zelensky and the government of Ukraine, 
vocally grateful for the generosity of the American people, 
have taken care to provide any insights that our government 
needs to ensure our aid is being spent the right way. Yet, I 
regret that we have some voices, extremist voices in my 
opinion, like the sponsors of this ROI, echoing the propaganda 
of the Kremlin and are aiming to advance a narrative that 
supporting Ukraine is poor for the resources of the American 
people. They are trying, folks, to divide us. They try to 
divide NATO, and they try to divide us in this Congress at a 
time and on an issue from which we cannot afford to pull back. 
The consequences for the people of Ukraine, for democracy, and 
for the security of Europe, the United States, and beyond are 
too dire. The consequences could be catastrophic.
    Looking forward to the 118th Congress, I urge my colleagues 
to ensure that our support to Ukraine remains resolute, 
bipartisan, and responsible. We've traveled collectively 
together to Poland, to areas that are close to the Ukraine 
border, and to Ukraine. This is not the time for us to be 
divided. We've held together with NATO and the EU and other 
allies. Let's not fall into this trap. Let's stand together. 
Let's send one message out: that we support and the U.S. House 
of Representatives, especially on this Committee on Foreign 
Affairs, we support Ukraine and we're going to give them the 
resources they need so they can win militarily and also 
humanitarian aid because we see what Putin is doing to them 
right now: bombing their energy resources, holding them 
hostage, and various other areas. Winter is upon them. This guy 
is committing war crimes. The only way he can win is divide us. 
Let's not let that happen.
    So I oppose the political, and it hasn't emanated from this 
Committee, but I do see from others now, this is really a side 
show. That's what this ROI aims to create. So, therefore, I 
will be also calling a vote to report it adversely.
    And now I yield to Mr. McCaul.
    Mr. McCaul. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You know, you and I 
have been probably some of the strongest supporters of the 
efforts in Ukraine to defeat the horrors of what Mr. Putin has 
done. In fact, Ukraine is winning this fight, and we need to 
give them everything they need to win this. The Russian 
military has been very much decimated, and not one American 
soldier has died.
    I also support that this Committee and Congress has the 
highest responsibility to conduct stringent oversight over the 
Department of State and U.S. aid. Every single U.S. dollar 
counts, and the Biden Administration should expect the 
Republican-controlled majority in the House next Congress to be 
vigilant in demanding transparency and accountability for U.S. 
assistance to Ukraine. The American taxpayer deserves this.
    So the era of writing blank checks, I think, is over, and 
you're going to see an era of transparency and accountability 
because, at the end of the day, the American people need to 
trust what we're doing and where is the money going. And if we 
can demonstrate that it's actually going to help them win this 
effort, it makes our case stronger.
    This ROI, resolution of inquiry, requests the 
Administration to transmit relevant documents related to 
congressionally appropriated funds for Ukraine. I support this 
resolution as a means to obtain critical information from the 
executive branch that will help Congress ensure that our 
support to Ukraine is being spent effectively and as intended 
by Congress.
    Importantly, this resolution requests information from the 
Administration starting on January 20th, 2021, a full year 
before Russia's unprovoked war of aggression began. It will be 
critical for Congress to closely examine the Administration's 
failure of deterrence leading up to February 24th so that it 
cannot be repeated in the future. And within days of being 
sworn in, President Biden agreed to a clean 5-year extension of 
the New START Treaty, giving Putin exactly what he wanted. In 
May 2021, the President waived congressionally mandated 
Nordstream II sanctions, threatening the credibility of western 
sanctions at a critical time in history. In August 2021, Mr. 
Biden oversaw the disastrous withdrawal of U.S. troops from 
Afghanistan, damaging U.S. credibility with our partners and 
emboldening U.S. adversaries. In the months before the full-
scale invasion, Mr. Biden failed to provide significant 
military support to Ukraine or impose any sanctions on the 
Putin regime, despite tens of thousands of Russian troops being 
seen on surveillance amassing on Ukraine's border.
    World War II made clear to us that appeasement invites 
aggression. Tyrants like Putin only respond to strength. Sadly, 
in the months ahead of February 24th, the Biden Administration 
projected weakness. This Administration has a lot to answer 
for, and the Republican-controlled majority in the House next 
Congress must ensure that we get those answers.
    And with that, Mr. Chairman, I end with my support for this 
measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.
    Chairman Meeks. Any other members wish to speak on this 
matter? Representative Susan Wild, Pennsylvania, you're 
recognized for 5 minutes.
    Ms. Wild. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I rise to express my 
strong opposition to H. Res. 1482. I want to begin on a 
personal note. As a Jewish American, at a time when powerful 
public figures, including several celebrities with global 
platforms, are putting Jewish communities across our country at 
risk of violent attacks by engaging in vicious anti-Semitism 
and Holocaust denial. And when powerful politicians, like 
former President Trump, are cultivating these forces and in the 
case of Minority Leader McCarthy and so many others are failing 
to speak out unequivocally against that, it is beyond shameful 
to see support for a measure like this one introduced by 
Representative Greene.
    I'm not going to attempt to recite even a fraction of the 
patently false, bigoted, and hateful statements and actions 
that have characterized Representative Greene's time as a 
member of this body. I will just say that her anti-Semitic 
conspiracy theories and trivializations of Nazism stand out as 
particularly reprehensible reflections of her ideology and 
approach to holding public office. I cannot in good conscience 
remain silent about any of this.
    I find the idea of granting Rep. Greene the legitimacy that 
comes with elevating one of her pieces of her legislation to be 
profoundly offensive. It's antithetical to the purpose of this 
body and this Committee.
    With that said, I want to move on to the substance of this 
resolution of inquiry which takes aim at our strong support for 
the Ukrainians defending their country against Russia's full-
scale unjustified invasion. Time and again, members of this 
Committee have held hearings and advanced legislation focused 
on the need for accountability and justice in the wake of the 
horrific war crimes that Russian forces are committing against 
civilians in order to attempt to break Ukrainian resistance and 
ultimately destroy Ukrainian society itself. This is what we 
should be focused on.
    Representative Greene has, not coincidentally, consistently 
voted against providing any aid to Ukraine, and that's what 
this effort is truly about. The support that we have provided 
the Ukrainians has, in fact, come with unprecedented 
transparency, and we have seen its effectiveness proven in 
realtime as the Ukrainians have built and strengthened their 
historic resistance month after month, pushing back the 
invading Russian forces despite the Russians' enormous 
advantages.
    As the representative of Pennsylvania 7th District, which 
includes one of the country's Ukrainian-American communities, I 
will never back down from providing the necessary support for 
Ukrainian forces to beat back this war of aggression and 
restore their territorial integrity.
    This resolution of inquiry is a political stunt designed to 
tie up and slow down our critical efforts to help Ukrainian 
forces. This change in policy would have the disastrous effect 
of signaling confusion and division to both our Ukrainian 
allies and our Russian adversaries at a time when Ukrainian's 
have made decisive military gains. And that's without even 
commenting on what it would cause, the consternation that it 
would cause to our NATO allies.
    On behalf of my Ukrainian-American constituents and their 
family members in Ukraine who are fighting for their country 
and their future, I urge my colleagues to join me in 
resoundingly opposing this resolution and reporting it 
adversely.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
    Chairman Meeks. The gentlelady yields back. Who seeks 
recognition? Representative Burchett from Tennessee is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Burchett. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I, too, have 
enjoyed your leadership in this Committee. I appreciate you, 
brother.
    But I think one thing that we avoided in this Committee for 
a long time, and that's personal attacks. And I just witnessed 
a personal attack against one of our colleagues that I do not 
think is very appropriate and it's not becoming of this 
Committee. A lot of issues were brought in for this, and the 
reality is all this is is a vote about accountability, about 
transparency. What are we afraid of? What are we afraid of 
finding out?
    We have billions upon billions of dollars that are flowing 
to another country; and, yet, a couple of years ago we were 
told we couldn't invest $3 billion in our border because it 
would break us. Yet, we've just given 40-plus billion, I guess 
we're at what? Sixty billion now, something of that nature. And 
all this is is just an accounting of American taxpayers' 
dollars, and we use that as an attempt to attack a young lady's 
credibility and her character. And to me, I find that 
unbecoming of this Committee.
    And at the appropriate time, I would like to call for a 
roll call vote, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
    Chairman Meeks. I now recognize Representative Gerry 
Connolly of Virginia, President of NATO Parliamentarian 
Authority.
    Mr. Connolly. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Of course, at the 
appropriate time, I want to also add my remarks to those of our 
colleagues about your chairmanship. You've been fair and 
patient, unbelievably patient, and given everyone an 
opportunity, and you've added glory to the job, and I thank 
you. Thank you so much for your leadership and your friendship.
    You know, I heard Mr. Burchett, whom I like, Mr. Burchett 
said, look, this is a simple matter of accountability. I wish 
that were true. But we all know that's not true. We all know 
that behind this is something else, and, at this moment, that 
risks serious undermining, serious erosion in confidence on the 
battlefield in Ukraine.
    The people of Ukraine have lost their electric power, their 
access to the internet, water, heat in a terrible winter. And 
those great people are carrying on to fight an enemy that knows 
no bounds. And right now the only signal we should be sending 
those people is our unwavering support.
    There will be plenty of time to look at accountability and 
transparency. We should. Right now, we're in the middle of a 
war. Yesterday, I met with my counterpart from Ukraine. He's a 
member of the Parliament. He's a brave young man. He goes out 
and fights and serves his country the Rada in their parliament. 
He was here in Washington meeting with people up here and with 
the Administration, and he told me that yesterday there were 70 
missile strikes against Ukraine, 70, and that in just one 
category of missiles the Russians have 7,000 in their 
warehouses. That would mean another hundred consecutive days 
theoretically of 70 missile strikes a day. Can one imagine the 
cost of that in human lives, in human suffering, and the damage 
to infrastructure that is very difficult to repair because 
we're talking about old utility systems, many of which date 
back to the Soviet era. And they're trying to cope with all of 
that, and they need our support. They need our friendship. They 
need to know they can count on us.
    And while maybe we should have a discussion about 
accountability and transparency--I'd join that discussion--it's 
not now. We cannot pretend that's all this is about. This is 
about reaffirming our support to the Ukrain people and this 
struggle against authoritarianism, their struggle for the 
simple right to determine their own destiny, and they're 
sacrificing their lives for it. The least they can expect from 
us is that we will help them in that effort. We won't fight the 
fight for them, but we will make sure they have the resources 
they need to win that valiant fight.
    So, Mr. Chairman, I join you in opposing this seemingly 
simple ROI that is anything but because of the context and 
because of the message I believe it would send to the Ukrain 
people. I would also add, Mr. Chairman, because you mentioned 
where my other hat is the President of the NATO Parliamentary 
Assembly, the legislative arm of NATO. We need to be cognizant 
of the message we send our allies. In recent years, they have 
reason to believe maybe we're not that reliant, and we do not 
want to send any mixed message on this subject. We want to make 
sure that that alliance is strong, it's cohesive, and it's 
unified, and that we're showing nothing but solidarity at this 
precarious moment. It's particularly important since the 
Ukrainians are actually winning on the battlefield.
    So I'm all for transparency and accountability, but not in 
this resolution, not now, not with this message. I yield back.
    Chairman Meeks. The gentleman yields back. I now recognize 
Representative Brian Mast of Florida for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Mast. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just heard a couple of 
very interesting arguments, and I want to make sure that I'm 
clear on those arguments. Mr. Connolly, you're happy to rebut. 
Oversight is important. Billions of dollars being spent. Just 
do not do oversight on it now. Am I understanding that argument 
correctly?
    Mr. Connolly. Well, not in the context that follows I do 
not want to support any more aid to Ukraine.
    Mr. Mast. I think I quoted you, though. Oversight is 
important, just not now.
    Mr. Connolly. In that context.
    Mr. Mast. So this cannot be the direction of Congress. That 
argument is shoot first, ask questions later. Shoot first with 
the American taxpayers' billions of dollars, ask questions 
later. It's very akin to what happened in Afghanistan with the 
withdrawal. Think about withdrawing from Afghanistan. Don't 
plan or ask any questions about pulling out billions of dollars 
in equipment and, in turn, create the most well-equipped 
terrorist organization in the history of the world. That's what 
happens when you shoot first and ask questions later. Our job 
is oversight.
    And the other argument that was made here about this bill 
was I do not like Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, so do 
not advance this piece of legislation about oversight. I do not 
like her for these reasons, personal attacks. I do not mind 
personal attacks. I think we're all individuals, and I do not 
mind getting in people's business, and I do not mind people 
getting in my business, you know. That's the nature. Our 
personalities have to do how we vote and how we think on 
things, so I actually appreciate that part of it. But that's 
the argument being made: I do not like Marjorie Taylor Greene, 
so do not move the legislation that she has to ask for the 
documents, it says it specifically right here, related to the 
appropriations that Congress has sent to the executive branch.
    I cannot think of any reason personally why we, as 
Congress--let's send the executive branch dollars, some of us 
voted on it, some of us did not, but we are responsible for the 
taxpayers' dollars--would not want that oversight right now. 
There is stuff behind this, 100 percent. Mr. Connolly, you said 
that you know what's behind this. What's behind this? To be 
perfectly transparent, for me, I do not trust the 
Administration. That's behind this. I do not trust what they've 
done with dollars in various agencies. That's what's behind 
this. I do not trust their tactics, their planning, their 
strategy. That's what's behind this. And I absolutely want to 
see right now, before any more money is spent on this, what is 
going on there, what is their train of thought, how did they 
plan things out or not plan things out because they do not have 
a good history of demonstrating that they do plan things out 
appropriately. Not to entirely rehash Afghanistan, which is 
what I just went over, but if you want to have further dialog 
on this, I'm happy to--you're looking at me like you've got a 
few more comments.
    Mr. Connolly. So, yes, thank you. I appreciate that. Would 
you suspend any arms shipments or payments to the Ukrainians 
during this audit that this so-called simple ROI would entail?
    Mr. Mast. It's not the request of this, of this particular 
piece of legislation, to suspend anything. It is that, within 
14 days of the passage of this, that these documents related to 
any appropriations by the House of Representatives to the 
executive branch be sent over here so that we can review this 
and do our oversight.
    Mr. Connolly. No, but----
    Mr. Mast. Our oversight could absolutely, in answer to your 
question and I'll certainly leave you time to respond, I like 
the dialog, doing oversight should absolutely have bearing on 
what we do forward. If we do oversight----
    Mr. Connolly. So would----
    Mr. Mast [continuing]. And we come up with, damn, something 
really wrong is going on right here, then it's responsible for 
us to respond to that accurately to the American people.
    Mr. Connolly. I would just say it's a little confusing, 
understanding your argument, Mr. Mast, because, on the one 
hand, you say I do not trust the Administration and that's why 
we need this, I do not trust them about anything, I do not 
trust them in Afghanistan, I do not trust them in Ukraine, and 
I want to see everything, and the implication is, before we 
proceed with anymore aid. In the middle of a war, I think 
that's a dubious proposition, and I simply want to ask you 
would you hold up aid----
    Mr. Mast. Potentially, yes.
    Mr. Connolly. Potentially.
    Mr. Mast. Potentially. Again, this is the nature of 
oversight. If what comes back in us doing oversight says, man, 
the Administration is really screwing this up, not paying 
attention to this, no tactics, no strategies, yes, that should 
have bearing on what Congress does with appropriations. That is 
the nature of oversight and reviewing documents.
    Mr. Connolly. Mr. Mast----
    Mr. Mast. My time is up.
    Chairman Meeks. The gentleman's time is expired.
    Mr. Connolly. That's not the nature of oversight in the 
middle of a war.
    Chairman Meeks. The gentleman's time is expired. I now 
recognize Representative David Cicilline of Rhode Island for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. Cicilline. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I rise in strong 
opposition to this resolution of inquiry. I think one of the 
things we have learned in our very close monitoring of the war 
in Ukraine is the importance of a unified approach both that is 
led by the United States with our allies in the region but in 
understanding that Vladimir Putin is engaged in a brutal, 
vicious, unwarranted, illegal attack on the Ukrainian people. 
And many of us have traveled to the region and seen the fight. 
The men and women of this country are fighting and dying to 
defend their democracy, to defend their right to decide their 
own future, to defeat a brutal dictator, authoritarian figure, 
Vladimir Putin, a war criminal who thinks he can redraw the 
lines of a country by force. They've had the courage to 
organize neighborhood groups armed for the first time to fight 
and die for their own country and to face brutal conditions as 
he attempts to level this country. We've seen unspeakable 
destruction. And the only thing that the United States has done 
is led a coalition to stand with the Ukrainian people as they 
engage in this fight. This is a dangerous moment, and the unity 
of the Congress of the United States, the unity of the freedom-
loving, democracy-loving world, has been critical in this 
fight. And we cannot do anything to undermine the very strong 
message that we stand committed to remain with the Ukrainian 
people until they win this fight.
    China is watching. Dictators and authoritarian leaders all 
over the world are watching how we behave in this moment.
    And we should also recognize that the author of this 
legislation is the same person who, at a rally on November 4th 
of this year, said if the GOP, the Republican Party, takes 
over, not one more penny will go to Ukraine in their fight for 
freedom and democracy. So context matters. This is not just 
about, oh, jeez, we've got to be better bookkeepers and do some 
oversight. Of course, we're all responsible, we all take an 
oath to honor that oath by making sure we do our jobs and 
provide appropriate oversight for every dollar that's spent. 
That's not what this is about. This is an effort to undermine 
America's support for Ukraine, to begin a process to make sure 
the words of the very author that not one more penny go to the 
people of Ukraine in this fight. That's a terrible message.
    You can, you know, play some political stunts with 
resolutions of inquiry at different times without lots of 
consequences. This has a consequence. The world is watching. 
Our ability to remain vigilant in our fight, in our support to 
support the Ukrainian people and their fight for freedom and 
democracy. They're literally losing their lives, facing some of 
the most treacherous conditions to stand up for democracy, 
which is under assault all over the world. We're in a 
democratic recession. We had our own challenges here in 
America.
    And so in this moment, those of us who care about democracy 
have a responsibility to make sure we're doing everything we 
can to make sure they prevail because they're not just fighting 
for their own futures. They're fighting for the peace and 
security of Europe and the peace and security of the world. And 
when history records this moment, I hope we will all remain 
committed to this fight, stand with the Ukrainian people, and 
reject this resolution authored by someone who says not one 
more penny should go to the Ukrainian people. That alone 
deserves a no vote on this resolution.
    I urge my colleagues to follow the Chairman's 
recommendation, and I yield back.
    Chairman Meeks. I now recognize Representative Scott Perry 
of Pennsylvania for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Perry. Chairman, I'm not going to take the 5-minutes as 
a gift to you for your service on this Committee. You've been a 
friend. You've been fair. We've had some disagreements, but 
I've appreciated your leadership here, and I think it's worth 
acknowledging.
    I wasn't going to say anything, but, as you know, Mr. 
Connolly evokes the best in all of us on this Committee. Let me 
just say this: quite honestly, it's pretty rich to say we 
cannot do it in the middle of a war, cannot take a look in the 
middle of a war, and I'll remind everybody it was Mr. 
Connolly's party that actually defunded troops in contact, 
troops on the front line in the 70's and abandoned them there.
    And let me also just say that, while our country has an 
invasion going on at our southern border, we're willing to, you 
know, travel four or five thousand miles with our tax dollars 
in the middle of raging inflation when the people that I 
represent cannot pay their bills, choosing between fuel for 
their vehicle and groceries, that we've got to spend this money 
overseas. And, look, there's not a person on this Committee, 
there's probably not a person in this room that agrees with 
Vladimir Putin, Russia, or what they've done. We all want to 
help. We all find it reprehensible. But to say that we have to 
wait until the war is over, and I'm a little sad that my 
friend, Gerry, from Virginia has left, I would ask him how long 
should we wait. I do not know. Maybe it's going to be 20 years. 
I do not know what it's going to be. I do not know who knows 
what it's going to be. But I know the folks that I represent 
right now working hard every day to pay their taxes and feed 
their children and pay their mortgages and their car payments, 
and what they're worried about is being able to pay the bills, 
and that's a fact that the IRS says that, if they do not report 
every single thing that they bought on Etsy or something like 
that, that they're going to be facing an audit. Meanwhile, 
their southern border is wide open, and their tax dollars are 
going four or five thousand miles away, and we're supposed to 
turn our head away and not ask one question.
    Regardless of the maker of the bill's motivation, it's our 
job to ask questions. That's what we're doing here. And with 
all due respect, you know, when myself, Mr. Green, Mr. Mast, 
when we were overseas, I know there was accountability asked 
for for the fights that we were in while we were in the fights.
    With that, Mr. Chairman, it's been a pleasure to serve on--
--
    Chairman Meeks. Can you give me 1 second?
    Mr. Perry. Of course, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Meeks. Let me just say this: I think we have, I do 
not agree with the statement that we have not, on this 
Committee, been utilizing oversight. As I've said, we've met 
over 50 occasions where we had people from the Administration 
here. We've talked about and we've had them, whether you're 
talking about particularly State, USAID, we've asked them, 
we've tried to monitor and track and account for the totality 
of the money that we've provided to the Ukraine. I mean, that's 
what we've been trying to do. That's what we've been doing.
    And I've also heard from both sides is give the Ukrainians 
what they need because they're winning. We're not questioning, 
I do not think anybody is questioning whether or not they're 
winning or not, whether or not their strategy is working or 
not, whether or not our allies are together with us or not, at 
least I do not think. I've heard that somewhere, maybe from the 
author of this ROI, but I do not think I've heard that from 
anybody from this Committee. They all say we're winning. Some 
say we need to give them more than what we're giving them so 
they can win.
    But we've been doing this oversight. It's not like we've 
had our eyes closed and saying nothing else is happening. We're 
doing that. We just want them to win.
    Mr. Perry. Mr. Chairman, I hope they win, too. I hope they 
do it soon. But I do not think asking our own government for an 
accounting of our citizens' tax money in regard to the support 
of Ukraine is too much to ask. And with all due respect, while 
I know that we've been doing some oversight here, I think it 
falls far short of what it needs to be in this instance.
    My constituents are frustrated. They want them to win, too. 
They do not agree with what Russia is doing. But they want an 
accounting for the money that they're sending to the Ukrainian 
border, and they want to know why it's more important than the 
money that's not being sent to our border.
    With that, I'll yield.
    Chairman Meeks. The gentleman yields back. And I now 
recognize Representative Tom Malinowski of New Jersey for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. Malinowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I believe in 
oversight in the middle of a war. I agree with Mr. Mast on that 
question.
    I do want to address a phrase that I heard used today. I've 
heard it used by Leader McCarthy, and a few moments ago I heard 
it used by our Ranking Member, somebody who I consider a great 
friend for whom I have tremendous respect. But I do have 
concern with this phrase, and the phrase is blank check. Blank 
check means we're giving Ukraine billions of dollars, and they 
can go use it for whatever they want; we do not ask any 
questions. And I think all of us know here that's not the case. 
First of all, they are paying for that support with blood. 
They're not taking the money and spending it in the Caribean, 
buying property in the UAE, doing all kinds of crazy nefarious 
things. They are taking that money to train and equip young men 
and women who every single day on the front line are risking 
their lives and giving their lives for the cause of freedom. 
That's what they're doing. It's not a blank check. It does not 
come without conditions. It comes with an expectation that 
these good people are going to do vastly more than any of us is 
being expected to do in this situation, and that is to risk and 
to give their lives for freedom. And we know that that's what 
they're doing because, as the Chairman suggested, we do have 
plenty of oversight. Every single one of us here has been to 
numerous briefings at which we've been able to question the 
Administration at length as to what they are doing. Many of us 
have traveled to Ukraine, and we all have the opportunity to do 
more of that, and I hope members on both sides will avail of 
themselves of that opportunity, sit in our embassy, sit with 
our USAID personnel, sit with our DoD personnel that are 
conducting oversight, that are tracking every single weapon, 
every single piece of ammunition that's going to the front 
line.
    A lot of us are in touch with Ukraine's own anti-corruption 
campaigners. These are amazing people because this is a problem 
in that country over the years, as we all know. The United 
States helped to train a lot of Ukraine's anti-corruption 
organizations. Are they asking for this? No, they're not, but 
they are certainly tracking every single penny that we are 
giving to their government. And knowing these folks, if anybody 
in the Ukrainian government was misspending the funding that we 
are providing at a time when the life of every single Ukrainian 
is on the line, they would want to hang those officials by a 
lamp post. They are our eyes and ears, as well, in this effort.
    So let's continue to do oversight. And if you think we need 
to do this, as well, that's fine. But let me tell you what this 
would actually mean: very, very little, other than asking 
probably dozens and dozens and dozens of people at the State 
Department, USAID, and DoD, to spend the next 2 weeks not 
helping Ukraine, not actually conducting the mission that we 
want them to conduct, but searching through their email, 
searching through their documents, to come up with an answer to 
a question that we already know the answer to, documents that 
probably no one sitting here today, certainly none of the 
members, were actually going to read because, again, we already 
know the answers to these questions.
    So if you want to do that, OK, that's fine. But please, I 
bet you, do not use this phrase blank check because what that 
communicates to the American people is that there's something 
wrong here. It communicates to the American people that we are 
just giving Ukraine all this money, and they're spending it on 
things that, God knows what they're spending it on, we do not 
know. And we know that that's not true.
    And I know, Mr. McCaul, you, of all people, do not want to 
do anything that diminishes public support for what we are 
doing in Ukraine. In fact, I've heard you many times challenge 
the Administration to loosen some of the restrictions they 
placed on this aid, to provide more weapons that are not 
currently being provided, which suggests you agree with me that 
it's not a blank check. And so, please, let's have oversight, 
let's have the right type of oversight, let's not use language 
that diminishes public support for this effort.
    Thank you. And I yield back.
    Chairman Meeks. The gentleman yields back. I now recognize 
Representative Mark Green of Tennessee for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Green. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I, too, thank you 
for your leadership. It's been enjoyable getting to work with 
you.
    Chairman Meeks. Somebody needs to mute their mic.
    Mr. Green. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Look, a lot of this argument that we're hearing today 
against this is about the horror of war, and how you cannot 
have an accounting in the midst of the horror of war. Well, as 
I think about that, there are only a few people on this 
committee that actually have seen the horror of war. One of 
them is two people down from me. I know myself, I've made three 
trips to combat. Every time we had to account for every single 
piece of ammunition, every single piece of equipment, and if 
something got lost, people were held accountable. You do that 
in combat. Trust me, you do.
    And there's no reason why having an accounting, having 
transparency reported to Congress who writes the check is a bad 
thing. It does not slow down one piece of weapon going to 
Ukraine. And to say that it does is a fallacy. It's deception. 
It's dishonesty.
    The horror of war, yes, I've seen it, and I still had to 
make sure that my night vision goggles and my weapon were all 
turned in at the end of the mission. Accountability and 
actually getting stuff to our friends to fight their war are 
two completely different things. You can have them both at the 
same time. Absurd to suggest otherwise.
    One of the other reasons that has been voiced about not 
supporting this is because of comments that were made by the 
author of this--and I'm not even going to get into those. But I 
will tell you that everybody who has said those things today as 
reasons not to support certainly supported legislation in this 
committee made by Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, and she made anti-
Semitic comments, horrible comments. And yet, I bet you we can 
pull up the voting record on her legislation and you all voted 
for it.
    So, your arguments make no sense. I'm sorry, the horror of 
war, you still account for stuff. And you're certainly 
inconsistent if you're applying the ``what she said'' test.
    I yield.
    Chairman Meeks. The gentleman yields back.
    Are there any other further requests?
    Mr. Smith. Yes, Mr. Chairman. Chris Smith.
    Chairman Meeks. Yes, Mr. Smith, you're recognized for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. Smith. And I want to join my colleagues in thanking you 
for your leadership. It has been tremendous. You have been fair 
throughout your tenure as chairman, and I was so happy to work 
with you on so many issues over these many years. So, I just 
want to single that out and say how grateful I am, and I know 
Mike McCaul said for all of us how we feel about you. So, thank 
you.
    You know, I do want to say I do support, and I support it 
strongly, and that is Ukrainian aid, both humanitarian as well 
as military. But, as Mr. Green just said and others have said, 
accountability and transparency is extraordinarily important as 
well. And if need to get information on a more secretive basis, 
do it, but we do not get everything, I believe, in terms of 
these packages, that we need to know.
    And I'll give an example. We all remember, in 2014, when 
President Poroshenko asked the Obama Administration for 
military assistance, which he did not get. And he said in a 
speech before the Joint Session of Congress, ``One cannot win 
the war with blankets.'' So, we have that past that we think of 
where they did not get what they needed.
    So, when Wendy Sherman testified before the committee in 
March 2022, I asked her, because there were reports in Politico 
and elsewhere that Zelenskyy had asked for help, military aid 
packages--this is before any of the hostilities started--and 
key items under consideration for the packages included short-
range air defense missile systems, small arms, and antitank 
weapons.
    I asked Secretary Sherman, ``Can you tell the committee 
what Ukrainian President Zelenskyy asked for over the past 
year, including air defense systems, that he did not get?'' I 
still haven't gotten that answer.
    So, you know, the past can be prologue. We're not sure now 
what he is asking for--``he'' being Zelenskyy--is being honored 
in the sense that it is seen as needed. I support aim to help 
our friends in Ukraine.
    I'm the one who introduced the resolution, and I actually 
chaired a hearing, saying we could charge Putin with war crimes 
right now. Go to
    [audio malfunction], go to the General Assembly, and I 
asked at the hearing of the Tom Lantos Commission, and 
introduced the resolution here in the House of Representatives, 
calling for that kind of hybrid court to go after him, and to 
do it now, not to wait until all the bloodshed is spilled, but 
do it now. And we still have not done anything. I guess our 
Secretary made that request as well. We could get a majority 
vote in the General Assembly of the United Nations, and we 
could get it almost immediately, if we fought for it and tried 
to get it.
    But, again, I think we need to know what's going on in 
terms of specifics. And again, the past can be prologue, I 
still do not know what did Zelenskyy ask for that he did not 
get that might have mitigated the attack, might have been the 
deterrence needed to tell Putin you're going to lose soldiers 
and you're going to lose tanks, because Zelenskyy had the 
capability to deter the aggression. We still do not.
    So, I think this is a good idea. I do not think--if 
anything, it might even mean more aid would be provided, as we 
find out what has been asked for and what has not been 
provided.
    And I thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield.
    Chairman Meeks. The gentleman yields back.
    I now recognize Representative Andy Barr of Kentucky for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. Barr. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the 
chairman's leadership on Ukraine. I appreciate the chairman and 
the ranking member's show of unity on Ukraine.
    And I agree with the chairman and the ranking member that 
we do need to show unity as a county in defense of the 
Ukrainian resistance, but that's precisely why I supported 
Ukrainian assistance and why I stand in support of this 
resolution of inquiry.
    And I think there's no reason why we need to be disunified 
or not unified when it comes to accountability, transparency, 
and making sure that our assistance is actually working. I 
would argue, and I concur with the comments of many of my 
colleagues, and many of the arguments have already been made. 
So, I won't belabor the points.
    But I think one point that has not been made is that we 
want to make sure that the strategy is working. If you truly 
support the Ukrainian resistance, if you truly want to defeat 
the Russian aggression, then, why on earth would we not want a 
full accounting of how our assistance is actually being 
delivered; how it's being used; as my colleague, Mr. Smith, 
just pointed out, whether or not the Administration, this 
Administration's resistance to deliver some of the weapon 
systems that have been specifically requested, whether or not 
that is having a bearing on the effectiveness of the Ukrainian 
resistance?
    So, I would argue, No. 1, to rebut Mr. Connolly's argument 
it's not now, the time is not now to conduct this oversight, it 
is always time to conduct oversight to make sure that our 
strategy is actually working. Isn't that what we want? Isn't 
that we want? We want the Ukrainians to succeed in repelling 
the Russian aggression and the Russian invasion.
    If we do not have transparency, the American taxpayers do 
not know whether or not their generosity is actually being 
delivered in a way that is delivering victory, then we're not 
doing our job.
    And I would just share this one anecdote. I met a young 
man, a Ukrainian soldier who returned from the battlefield in 
the Battle of Mariupol without a leg. He woke up in a coma in a 
Russian prison. He was released in a prisoner exchange, seven 
Russian soldiers for him. And his name was Vladimir.
    And I told him about my constituents, the taxpayers who had 
sent me to Washington to vote on these issues of Ukrainian 
assistance. And I say this as somebody who voted for $40 
billion in assistance to Ukraine. And I told this young, brave, 
courageous freedom fighter that some American taxpayers do not 
understand what this is about. And I asked him to tell me what 
he wanted me to tell my constituents about what this was all 
about.
    And he said, first of all, say thank you to the American 
people for delivering this assistance, but, second, tell them 
that this is not just about Ukraine; this is about humanity and 
civilization. And that inspires me.
    And I want to make sure that we're actually supporting the 
cause that Vladimir fought for in an effective way. And to do 
that, we need accountability. We need information from this 
Administration that the assistance that the American taxpayer 
is delivering is working.
    And so, I'll just conclude by saying I do not believe this 
measure would diminish public support. I think this measure is 
required for continued American taxpayer support.
    So, with that, I urge my colleagues to support the 
resolution. No, it's not about a blank check. If you do not 
have an accounting, the American taxpayers can think nothing 
other than this is a blank check. We need to restore confidence 
in American taxpayers in order to continue the vital assistance 
that's needed here.
    And let me just say one other thing. And that is that, 
where is this Administration on closing the loophole in 
sanctions? Where is this Administration on fighting Russia in 
an effective way--by unleashing American energy? You want to 
crush Russia? Then, we need a reversal of this Administration's 
war against American energy. That's what we need to do. Don't 
give me this nonsense that we need unity. You want unity? You 
want to crush the Russian aggressors? Unleash American energy 
dominance again. That's how we win this war. That's how we help 
Ukrainians. That's how we unite our country in support of the 
Ukrainian people.
    And I'll yield to my friend from Tennessee.
    Mr. Green. Just a quick question. What is the transparency 
found and efficiency that got the weapon systems there faster? 
Wouldn't that be great?
    Chairman Meeks. The gentleman's time has expired.
    I now recognize Representative Pfluger from Texas for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. Pfluger. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I echo the 
comments from my colleagues about your leadership and the 
fairness in which you've orchestrated our hearings throughout 
this time.
    Let me just start by saying my good friend from Kentucky, 
Mr. Barr, makes a great point. It is time to put Midland over 
Moscow, by the way. We've been saying that for several years.
    You know, the quote that I heard that really bothers me the 
most is ``not at this time, not right now.'' Well, I couldn't 
think of something more disrespectful to my 750,000 
constituents, hardworking men and women. That's $121 per person 
in this country if we just go with the $40 billion. For a 
family of four, that's $484. That's a check that we've just 
written.
    As someone who actually served in combat, along with these 
others that have mentioned it, you know, I'd like to know the 
effectiveness of something that I supported. We're not asking 
the Ukrainian government to do anything that's going to hamper 
this effort, nothing to slow them down. We're asking the U.S. 
Government to show us the receipts. We're asking the U.S. 
Government to tell us where the money went.
    And with all due respect, the gentlelady from Georgia, Mrs. 
Greene, has every right to know where $90 million, her 
district's share, went. And it's a good question, and we need 
to figure that out.
    And so, for us in this committee to say that other people 
do not have a say, do not have a right to ask, not at this 
time, not right now, that is extremely disrespectful. All 435 
of us have the right to raise our hand on any given day without 
persecution. And I've heard it in this committee time and time 
again that we should respect each other. This is disrespectful 
to the gentlelady from Georgia. Regardless of where she stands 
on this issue, how she voted, she has the right to know where 
$90 million, her district's share, 750,000 people, of the $40 
billion that was voted on.
    And I'd associate myself with the comments of everyone else 
on this side of the aisle who has said that we want to know how 
the money is being used; what weapon systems are needed, and 
how we can continue to see successful gains for the Ukrainian 
people.
    Mr. Connolly. Would the gentleman----
    Mr. Pfluger. I would challenge--and, yes, I will yield in 
just a second--I would challenge anyone on this committee who 
has talked to the warfighters, the Ukrainian warfighters who 
have come to my office and have asked for specific things. I 
represent my district, like everyone else on this committee, 
and my district wants to know--now, at this time--where the 
money has gone.
    And I'd gladly yield to you.
    Mr. Connolly. I thank my friend.
    I hope my friends on the other side of the aisle can 
understand why we might be a little skeptical on this side of 
the aisle, given the author of this resolution who said on 
November 4th, if the Republicans win the majority in the 
election, quote, ``Not another penny will go to Ukraine.'' 
Unquote. That would suggest that the sincerity behind this 
resolution isn't there; that what really is the agenda here is 
to cutoff all aid to Ukraine. And that's why this Member 
believes this is the wrong time to do that because that's the 
message sends.
    I thank my friend for yielding.
    Mr. Pfluger. Yes, absolutely. And I think that most of us 
would probably have to say that, because she was kicked off her 
committees and does not have a chance to actually ask these 
questions, which is a whole other issue, that we shouldn't 
judge the sincerity level, based on what I have just read and 
reread for two or three times is a very simple question.
    With that, I yield back.
    Chairman Meeks. Mr. Pfluger, let me just say to all the 
members, you know, I'm just puzzled. Members at any time can 
view in our classified spaces packets upon packets of documents 
with details upon details of weapons, arms, ammunition provided 
by the United States. They have been provided on an ongoing 
basis by the dozens and for months, and have been and are still 
available to Members for review at any time, and with a cause, 
how that money is being spent. Certain specifics are not 
public, but many details that Members are discussing and asking 
questions about are all covered materials already provided by 
the Administration, and have been and still are available for 
review. The gentlelady who is the author of this is not on this 
committee, but it's available to us on this committee.
    Mr. Pfluger. Will the chairman yield?
    Chairman Meeks. Yes.
    Mr. Pfluger. Then, it should be very easy to compile this 
data and put it together exactly in the format being asked for.
    Chairman Meeks. You have it. It's there. Go get it. You're 
not.
    All right. Hearing--no, are there any amendments?
    [No response.]
    Hearing none, we'll now take a vote by voice.
    The question is to report H.Res. 1482 adversely. To 
clarify, if you share my opposition to the resolution, you will 
vote aye. We're going to take a vote by voice.
    All members, please unmute your microphones.
    All those in favor, say aye.
    All opposed, no.
    In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
    And without objection--a recorded vote is ordered.
    The question is now to report H.Res. 1482 adversely. As a 
reminder again, if you share my opposition to this measure, you 
should vote aye.
    All members, turn on your video.
    The clerk will please call the roll.
    Ms. Hallman. I do not see Representative Sherman.
    I do not see Representative Sires.
    Representative Connolly?
    Mr. Connolly. Aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Connolly votes aye.
    I do not see Representative Bass.
    Representative Keating?
    Mr. Keating. Aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Keating votes aye.
    Representative Cicilline?
    Mr. Cicilline. Aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Cicilline votes aye.
    Representative Bera?
    Representative Bera?
    Mr. Bera. Aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Bera votes aye.
    Representative Castro?
    Mr. Castro. Aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Castro votes aye.
    Representative Titus?
    Ms. Titus. Aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Titus votes aye.
    Representative Lieu?
    Mr. Lieu. Aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Lieu votes aye.
    Representative Wild?
    Ms. Wild. Aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Wild votes aye.
    Representative Phillips?
    I do not see Representative Phillips.
    Representative Omar?
    Representative Omar?
    Ms. Omar. Aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Omar votes aye.
    Representative Allred?
    Mr. Allred. Aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Allred votes aye.
    I do not see Representative Levin.
    Mr. Levin. I'm here. Can you see me?
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Levin, how do you vote, sir?
    Mr. Levin. Aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Levin votes aye.
    Representative Spanberger?
    Ms. Spanberger. Aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Spanberger votes aye.
    Representative Houlahan?
    Ms. Houlahan. Aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Houlahan votes aye.
    Representative Malinowski?
    Mr. Malinowski. Aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Malinowski votes aye.
    Representative Andy Kim?
    Mr. Kim of New Jersey. Aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Andy Kim votes aye.
    Representative Jacobs?
    Ms. Jacobs. Aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Jacobs votes aye.
    Representative Manning?
    Ms. Manning. Aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Manning votes aye.
    Representative Cherfilus-McCormick?
    Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick. Aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Cherfilus-McCormick votes aye.
    Representative Costa?
    Mr. Costa. Costa votes aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Costa votes aye.
    Representative Vargas?
    Mr. Vargas. Aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Vargas votes aye.
    Representative Gonzalez?
    Mr. Gonzalez. Gonzalez votes aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Gonzalez votes aye.
    Representative Schneider?
    Mr. Schneider. Aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Schneider votes aye.
    Ranking Member McCaul?
    Mr. McCaul. No.
    Ms. Hallman. Ranking Member McCaul votes no.
    Representative Smith?
    Mr. Smith. No.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Smith votes no.
    Representative Chabot?
    Mr. Chabot. No.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Chabot votes no.
    Representative Wilson?
    Mr. Wilson. No.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Wilson votes no.
    Representative Perry?
    Mr. Perry. No.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Perry votes no.
    Representative Issa?
    Mr. Issa. No.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Issa votes no.
    I do not see Representative Kinzinger.
    Representative Zeldin?
    Mr. Zeldin. No.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Zeldin votes no.
    Representative Wagner?
    Mrs. Wagner. No.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Wagner votes no.
    Representative Mast?
    Mr. Mast. No.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Mast votes no.
    Representative Fitzpatrick?
    Mr. Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick votes no.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Fitzpatrick votes no.
    I do not see Representative Buck.
    Representative Burchett?
    Mr. Burchett. Burchett votes no.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Burchett votes no.
    Representative Green?
    Mr. Green. No.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Green votes no.
    Representative Barr?
    Mr. Barr. No.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Barr votes no.
    I do not see Representative Steube.
    Representative Meuser?
    Mr. Meuser. No.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Meuser votes no.
    Representative Tenney?
    Ms. Tenney. No.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Tenney votes no.
    Representative Pfluger?
    Mr. Pfluger. No.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Pfluger votes no.
    Representative Malliotakis?
    Ms. Malliotakis. No.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Malliotakis votes no.
    I do not see Representative Meijer.
    Representative Jackson?
    Mr. Jackson. Representative Jackson votes no.
    Mr. Meijer. Meijer votes no.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Jackson votes no.
    Representative Young Kim?
    Mrs. Kim of California. No.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Young Kim votes no.
    Representative Salazar?
    Ms. Salazar. Votes no.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Salazar votes no.
    Mr. Chairman?
    Ms. Bass. Representative Bass. How do you have me recorded?
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Bass, I do not have a vote for 
you, ma'am. How would you like to vote.
    Ms. Bass. Bass votes aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Bass votes aye.
    Mr. Phillips. And Representative Phillips votes aye as 
well.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Phillips votes aye.
    Mr. Sherman. Sherman votes aye.
    Mr. Meijer. Representative Meijer.
    Ms. Hallman. I think I heard Representative Sherman. How do 
you vote, sir?
    Mr. Sherman. I vote aye.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Sherman votes aye.
    I think I also heard Representative Meijer. How do you 
vote, sir?
    Mr. Meijer. Representative Meijer votes no.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Meijer votes no.
    Mr. Chairman?
    Chairman Meeks. Aye.
    Ms. Hallman. The chairman votes aye.
    Mr. Buck. Mr. Chairman, how am I recorded?
    Chairman Meeks. Who's that?
    Mr. Buck. This is Congressman Buck.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Buck, I do not have a vote for 
you, sir.
    Mr. Buck. I vote no.
    Ms. Hallman. Representative Buck votes no.
    Chairman Meeks. Any other members wishing to vote?
    [No response.]
    Any members wishing to change their vote?
    [No response.]
    The clerk will report the vote.
    Ms. Hallman. Mr. Chairman, on that vote, there were 26 ayes 
and 22 noes.
    Chairman Meeks. The ayes have it, and without objection, 
the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.
    The measure is ordered reported to the House adversely.
    Without objection, staff is authorized to make any 
technical and conforming changes.
    Mr. McCaul. Mr. Chairman, pursuant to House rules, I 
request that members have the opportunity to submit views for 
any committee report that may be produced on any of today's 
measures.
    Chairman Meeks. Without objection.
    Mr. McCaul. Thank you.
    Chairman Meeks. At this time, the committee is going to 
recess. We will reconvene the markup tomorrow afternoon. We 
will update everyone on timing.
    The committee is now in recess and subject to the call of 
the chair.
    [Whereupon, at 6:54 p.m., the committee was recessed 
subject to the call of the chair.]

                                APPENDIX
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                             RECORDED VOTES
                             
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                           BILL H. RES. 1481
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                                 BILLS

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                           AMENDMENT TO 9374
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                       AMENDMENT H. CON. RES. 110
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                          AMENDMENT H.R. 8654
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         STATEMENT FOR THE RECORD FROM REPRESENTATIVE CONNOLLY
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         STATEMENT FOR THE RECORD FROM REPRESENTATIVE HOULAHAN
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                             MARKUP SUMMARY
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