[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 144 (Thursday, September 7, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S4245]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                UKRAINE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on another matter, the loudest critics 
of American assistance to Ukraine tend to rest their case on three 
dubious claims: first, that somehow our support for Ukraine is a 
distraction--a distraction--from China, when, in fact, there are many 
reasons to believe exactly the opposite; second, that there is no 
accountability of lethal U.S. assistance when, in fact--in fact--we 
have unprecedented visibility into how the weapons and vehicles we are 
providing Ukraine are being utilized; and third, that somehow this 
whole thing is a zero-sum proposition, that support for Ukraine or 
European security comes at the expense of American prosperity and 
security, that we are spending too much.
  I will discuss each of these faulty arguments in detail in the coming 
days, but today I would like to discuss this last one, in particular. 
Set aside the fact, recognized by the previous administration's 
National Security Strategy, that ``a strong and vital Europe is of 
vital importance to the United States.''
  Standing with our allies against Putin is directly and measurably 
strengthening the U.S. military, growing the U.S. industrial base, and 
supporting thousands of good-paying American jobs. The overwhelming 
majority of the money that we have appropriated is being spent here in 
America, right here in this country. This is especially true for the 
security assistance we have appropriated for Ukraine. This assistance 
falls into two basic buckets.
  The first, smaller portion is for the Ukraine Security Assistance 
Initiative--USAI for short. USAI predates the Biden administration. It 
was used by the previous administration to enhance Ukraine's military 
capabilities.
  The second, larger portion isn't even for Ukraine. It is referred to 
as ``backfill'' or ``replenishment'' money, and it is used to purchase 
new versions of weapons and vehicles to replace the old--sometimes very 
old--versions the United States has taken from stockpiles and 
warehouses and transferred to Ukraine.
  Now, the Biden administration often announces tranches of assistance 
as though it is new, direct aid to Ukraine. In fact, it is previously 
authorized or appropriated assistance that is only too slowly actually 
being disbursed. But, in both cases, the money we are talking about 
doesn't go to Ukraine; it goes to defense manufacturing facilities all 
across America and supports tens of thousands of American jobs--
expanding our defense industrial capacity to better compete with China, 
replenishing America's arsenal with weapons built by American workers.
  But don't take my word for it. Just look at where some of these 
resources are going. Nearly $1.4 billion is buying the U.S. military 
new Javelin anti-tank missiles. These weapons are manufactured at 
facilities in Troy, AL; Ocala, FL; Farmington, NM; and Tucson, AZ, that 
employ hundreds of thousands of Americans.
  Another $3 billion is producing new precision rockets and Patriot 
missiles for our military. That work is underway at a plant in Camden, 
AR, that employs nearly 1,000 workers. Dozens of suppliers across the 
country are doing work to support these high-end weapons.
  Hundreds of millions of dollars in new air-to-air weapons systems 
bound for the U.S. military are rolling off production lines across the 
country--from a Massachusetts facility that employs 400 people to one 
in Arizona that employs 14,000. And this work is made possible by 
suppliers all across America, including in Iowa, Missouri, Texas, 
Florida, Alabama, Utah, and my home State of Kentucky--tens of billions 
of dollars directly invested in American military strength, directly 
supporting thousands of American jobs, and expanding our defense 
industry's capability to produce the weapons needed to deter 
adversaries like Russia and China.
  Our support to Ukraine is grinding down one of America's biggest 
strategic adversaries and showing the other one the strength of our 
resolve; and it is providing Western forces, from NATO to Taiwan, with 
valuable operational lessons to apply to their own defense.
  The value of that to American interests can hardly be measured simply 
in dollars or jobs; but critics of this investment cannot ignore its 
returns: American industry and workers are stronger for it; our 
warfighters are stronger for it; and our Nation is stronger for it.

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