[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 117 (Tuesday, July 8, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S4254]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Ukraine
Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I was pleased to see President Trump say
that his administration will resume sending weapons to Ukraine. It is
my understanding that they signed an order to do so. He was going to do
that using the resources and flexibilities that Congress has provided
to him, to his administration.
This commitment is vital, ensuring that Ukraine has capabilities to
meet the needs to protect its people and its territory against ongoing
aggression.
America's security is closely linked to the stability of the free
world. If Ukraine fails to repel Russia's invasion, the consequences
will extend far beyond Eastern Europe, threatening the safety, economic
strength, and global leadership of the United States of America.
If we allow a dictator to redraw borders by force, then what message
does that send to other authoritarian regimes watching closely around
the globe--including China? This is a message of weakness that invites
further aggression, and it threatens our allies and partners around the
globe.
The cost of inaction will far outweigh the cost of action. If Putin
is not stopped in Ukraine, the likelihood of a direct confrontation
between Russia and a NATO ally dramatically increases, and that would
mean far greater costs--not just in resources but potentially in
American lives.
The President has tried to negotiate a peace agreement, but Putin has
indicated, in almost no uncertain fashion, lack of interest.
The Ukrainian people have demonstrated incredible courage and
resilience. They are fighting for their freedom and, by extension, for
the principles that underpin global peace and security.
Our response to what we are seeing in Ukraine and across the globe
should be to build more capacity and ensure that we have a resilient
industrial base, with an ability to handle all the possible threats
that the United States faces now and into the future. And 90 percent of
the aid we will provide also goes back directly into the American
economy, expanding capacity and resources for our own defense
industrial base and creating jobs right here at home.
Expanding that industrial base is hugely important to the future, the
well-being, the national security of our Nation. By aiding Ukraine, we
are replenishing our own stockpiles with new, more advanced equipment
and demonstrating American leadership on the global stage.
President Trump also secured a recent agreement at the NATO summit in
which members of the alliance agreed to increase defense spending from
2 percent to 5 percent by 2035. This commitment to the defense of
Europe and the NATO members is a tremendous development and will
bolster our collective strength in an alliance, bringing our allies'
spending up to the same levels of the United States.
We need to make certain Ukraine has the equipment necessary to win a
just and lasting peace. We are interested in that peace. We want that
peace.
The United States must continue our resolute support for Ukraine,
showing our adversaries that we are a reliable partner and that attacks
on democracy will not go unanswered.
We need to prove, particularly after our withdrawal from Afghanistan,
that our allies can rely on us and our adversaries should fear us.
Mr. President, I thank you for your engagement today and, in the
past, the things that you have secured to see that there is a bright
future for the people in Ukraine.
And I thank you, Mr. President, for my time on the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.
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