[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 81 (Thursday, May 12, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2480-S2481]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                  Unanimous Consent Request--H.R. 7691

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I am offering this unanimous consent on 
behalf of myself and Leader McConnell. Let me explain the unanimous 
consent.
  As the war in Ukraine extends into its third month, we have a moral 
obligation--a moral obligation--to stand with Ukraine in its fight 
against Putin's immoral war.
  Earlier this week, the House passed a Ukraine package with 
overwhelming bipartisan support. It should be no different here in the 
Senate. The package is ready to go. The vast majority of Senators on 
both sides of the aisle wants it. There is now only one thing holding 
us back. The junior Senator from Kentucky is preventing the swift 
passage of Ukraine aid because he wants to add, at the last minute, his 
own changes directly into the bill. His change is strongly opposed by 
many Members from both parties. He is not even asking for an amendment; 
he is simply saying: My way or the highway.
  When you have a proposal to amend a bill, you can't just come to the 
floor and demand it by fiat. You have to convince other Members to back 
it first. That is how the Senate works. If every Member held every bill 
in exchange for every last little demand, it would mean the total and 
permanent paralysis of this Chamber. The junior Senator from Kentucky 
knows that perfectly well. He knows that is not how this Chamber works.
  Again, when you have a proposal to change a bill, you have to 
convince Members to support it. The junior Senator from Kentucky has 
not done that.
  So right now, in conjunction with Leader McConnell, I am giving 
Senator Paul an opportunity to do just that. I am offering to hold a 
vote on his amendment, even though I disagree with it. Let the Chamber 
speak its will. Let both sides of the aisle have input. And, for 
Heaven's sake, let's get Ukraine funding done ASAP.
  We must keep our promise to the people of Ukraine, and I hope the 
junior Senator from Kentucky does not stand in the way of keeping that 
promise. If Senator Paul persists in his reckless demand, we will not 
allow him to insert his language into this bill without a vote, and all 
he will accomplish is to singlehandedly delay desperately needed 
Ukraine aid.
  I yield to the Republican leader.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, as I said earlier today, the Ukraine 
people are fighting valiantly in a war they didn't ask for. Their brave 
self-defense has literally shocked the skeptics and inspired freedom-
loving people all around the world.
  Ukraine is not asking us to fight this war. They are only asking for 
the resources they need to defend themselves against this deranged 
invasion, and they need this help right now.
  Sending lethal assistance to Ukraine is not just some kind of 
philanthropy; this conflict has direct and major consequences for 
America's national security and America's national interests.

[[Page S2481]]

Russia's aggression cannot--cannot--be allowed to continue cost-free.
  I understand my friend and colleague from Kentucky would like changes 
to the bill. Those changes are not acceptable to the Democratic 
majority, as we have just heard. So I think there is a simple way to 
solve this. We should vote on Senator Paul's amendment, and then we 
should pass the supplemental, and we should do it today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, on behalf of myself and Leader 
McConnell, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to 
legislative session and proceed to the immediate consideration of 
Calendar No. 366, S. 4190, Senator Kennedy's bill on Ukraine oversight; 
that the bill be considered read a third time and the Senate vote on 
passage of the bill; further, that upon disposition of the Kennedy 
bill, the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 
368, H.R. 7691, a bill to provide aid to Ukraine; that the only 
amendment in order be the Paul amendment, which is at the desk; that 
the Senate vote on the Paul amendment with 60 affirmative votes 
required for adoption; that the bill be read a third time and the 
Senate vote on passage of the bill, as amended, if amended; and that 
the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, 
all without intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there an objection?
  The Senator from Kentucky.
  Mr. PAUL. Reserving the right to object, my oath of office is to the 
U.S. Constitution, not to any foreign nation. And no matter how 
sympathetic the cause, my oath of office is to the national security of 
the United States of America.
  We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the U.S. economy. In March, 
inflation hit a 40-year high. Gasoline alone is up 48 percent, and 
energy prices are up 32 percent over the last year. Food prices have 
increased by nearly 9 percent. Used vehicle prices are up 35 percent 
for the year, and new vehicle prices have increased 12 percent or more.
  Yes, inflation doesn't just come out of nowhere; it comes from 
deficit spending.
  The United States spent nearly $5 trillion on COVID-19 bailouts, 
leading to one of the highest and most sustained levels of inflation in 
U.S. history.
  Americans are feeling the pain, and Congress seems intent only on 
adding to that pain by shoveling more money out the door as fast as 
they can.
  This bill under consideration would spend $40 billion. This is the 
second spending bill for Ukraine in 2 months, and this bill is three 
times larger than the first.
  Our military aid to Ukraine is nothing new, though. Since 2014, the 
United States has provided more than $6 billion in security assistance 
to Ukraine. In addition to the $14 billion Congress authorized just a 
month ago, if this bill passes, the United States will have authorized 
roughly $60 billion in total spending for Ukraine.
  For those who say this is not enough, for those of you in this 
Chamber who say that our military spending is never enough, let's put 
$60 billion into perspective.
  According to Elias Yousef, a security assistance expert at the 
Stimson Center, Kyiv would become the largest yearly recipient of U.S. 
military aid of the past two decades.
  Except for the top five countries, $60 billion is more than every 
other country in the world spends on their entire military 
expenditures.
  If this gift to Ukraine passes, our total aid to Ukraine will almost 
equal the entire military budget of Russia. And it is not as if we have 
that money lying around. We will have to borrow that money from China 
to send it to Ukraine.
  The cost of this package we are voting on today is more than the 
United States spent during the first year of the U.S. conflict in 
Afghanistan. Congress authorized force, and the President sent troops 
into the conflict. The same cannot be said of Ukraine.
  This proposal towers over domestic priorities as well. The massive 
package of $60 billion to Ukraine dwarfs the $6 million spent on cancer 
research annually, and $60 billion is more than the amount the 
government collects in gas taxes each year to build roads and bridges. 
The $60 billion to Ukraine can fund substantial portions or entire 
large Cabinet Departments. The $60 billion nearly equals the entire 
State Department budget. The $60 billion exceeds the budget for the 
Department of Homeland Security and for the Department of Energy. And 
Congress just wants to keep on spending and spending.

  Our allies and partners have sent aid to Ukraine. Some of them even 
broke longstanding traditions by sending military assistance. Germany, 
Poland, the United Kingdom, and others are stepping up to defend 
Ukraine like never before.
  In other words, it is not all about us. It isn't that we always have 
to be the Uncle Sam, the policeman who saves the world, particularly 
when it is on borrowed money. Yet the United States accounted for 
nearly half of what has been spent so far.
  With a $30 trillion debt, America can't afford to be the world's 
policeman. The United States is trying to recover from the $1.6 
trillion we spent on wars in the Middle East, not to mention the $5 
trillion borrowed for COVID.
  We should not forget that the Soviet Union collapsed, in large part, 
not because it was defeated militarily but because it ran out of money. 
In an attempt to save Ukraine, will we doom the United States to such a 
future?
  In the past 2 years, the United States has borrowed more money than 
at any time in our history. We are already experiencing the greatest 
rate of inflation in over four decades. The assault on monetary 
discipline is untenable, and it cannot go on forever. Unless we put an 
end to the fiscal insanity, a day of reckoning awaits us.
  Congress should evaluate the cost of continuing down this path. The 
biggest threat to the United States today is debt and inflation and the 
destruction of the dollar. We cannot save Ukraine by killing our 
economic strength.
  So I ask to modify the bill to allow for a special inspector general. 
This would be the inspector general who has been overseeing the waste 
in Afghanistan and has done a great job.
  Therefore, I ask the Senator to modify his request so that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 368, H.R. 7691; 
furthermore, that the Paul amendment at the desk be considered and 
agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time; 
and that the Senate vote on passage of the bill, as amended, with a 60-
affirmative vote threshold for passage.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the leader so modify his request?
  Mr. SCHUMER. Reserving the right to object, it is clear from the 
junior Senator from Kentucky's remarks, he doesn't want to aid Ukraine. 
That is not the case for the overwhelming majority here.
  Again, all he will accomplish with his actions here today is to delay 
that aid, not to stop it. It is aid that is desperately needed by a 
valiant people fighting against authoritarianism and defending 
democracy. So I will not modify it.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there an objection to the original request?
  Mr. PAUL. I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard.
  The Senator from Tennessee.