[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 20, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H4415]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            UKRAINE STRATEGY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Miller) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MILLER of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I rise to speak about the ongoing 
brutal and unjust war that is still wreaking havoc in Eastern Europe to 
this day and about America's role.
  Make no mistake, Vladimir Putin is an evil tyrant whose brutal army 
is devastating the people of Ukraine. Like many others, I look forward 
to seeing him in The Hague.
  My position on providing aid to Ukraine has been clear. Ukraine 
should have the tools it needs to win this war, its war, with the help 
of other countries, not just the United States.
  The United States, especially with the American President, who holds 
many of these powers, absolutely cannot provide a blank check without 
robust oversight and something else that has been lacking: a clear 
strategy to end America's involvement.
  Before I became a Member of this House, the previous Congress gave 
the Biden administration the resources it needed to help the Ukrainians 
end their war. However, the piecemeal approach taken by this 
administration has prolonged, rather than ended, the fight.
  Frankly, just like former President Trump has said, the United States 
of America has the tools to end this war in 24 hours, bring that thug 
Putin to the table, stop the killing of innocent civilians, and allow 
Ukraine to maintain its independence.
  I believe the American people, as well as the Ukrainians fighting on 
the front lines, have little use, if any, for weak and ill-equipped 
weaponry that simply prolongs the war rather than bringing it to an end 
once and for all.
  A piecemeal approach to helping Ukraine is wasting taxpayer dollars, 
and I do not know anyone who is in favor of wasting American tax 
dollars.
  What we need is a strategy, oversight, and accountability:
  A strategy that explicitly defines what victory looks like so we know 
when America's involvement is at an end; oversight so that the American 
people know how their tax dollars are being spent; and accountability 
for this administration's failures to implement these elementary 
pillars of decisionmaking.
  Another far-reaching, multi-billion-dollar supplement without these 
three key tenets is not what the American people want or deserve. 
Frankly, it is not what the Ukrainians want either.
  The Ukrainians have taken significant steps to restore accountability 
to their government and weed out corruption, so I believe they 
understand just how important a transparency is.
  Madam Speaker, Ukraine can end this war, Ukrainians can have peace, 
the innocent killings of civilians at the evil hands of an evil 
dictator can stop. We can share the tools Ukrainians need without 
depleting our own capabilities. However, the United States cannot be 
drawn into another forever war without a meaningful strategy that 
defines how we know when it is over. We cannot put American 
servicemembers in harm's way, and we certainly cannot waste taxpayer 
dollars.
  We were supposed to learn this lesson after Vietnam, and, instead, we 
ended up with a 20-year war in Afghanistan. We cannot make the same 
mistake again.
  Madam Speaker, I represent one of the largest Ukrainian-American 
populations in the House of Representatives. My constituents are 
Americans who are the family members of Ukrainian soldiers. They are 
Americans who are faith leaders, and some are even first-generation 
Ukrainian Americans. All of them are grateful for the American 
assistance and that of our allies, and every single one is ready for 
this war to come to an end, just as I know so many others are, as well.

  It is time for this administration to be up front with the American 
people and articulate a coherent strategy to define our end goal.
  Let us all work together to commit to saving taxpayer dollars, 
increasing crucial oversight of our operations, logistical and tactical 
support, and finally commit ourselves to developing the strategy needed 
to save innocent lives, help the Ukrainians end their armed conflict, 
keep America out of this war, and ensure this does not go on another 
day longer.

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