[House Report 118-29]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


118th Congress }                                             { Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session   }                                             { 118-29

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

 
   RESOLUTION OF INQUIRY REQUESTING THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTING THE 
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE AND SECRETARY OF STATE TO TRANSMIT, RESPECTIVELY, 
     CERTAIN DOCUMENTS TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES RELATING TO 
   CONGRESSIONALLY APPROPRIATED FUNDS TO THE NATION OF UKRAINE FROM 
                 JANUARY 20, 2021 TO FEBRUARY 24, 2023

                                _______
                                

   March 27, 2023.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. McCaul, from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

                       [To accompany H. Res. 158]

    The Committee on Foreign Affairs, to whom was referred the 
resolution (H. Res. 158) of inquiry requesting the President 
and directing the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State 
to transmit, respectively, certain documents to the House of 
Representatives relating to congressionally appropriated funds 
to the nation of Ukraine from January 20, 2021 to February 24, 
2023, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 
without amendment and recommends that the resolution be agreed 
to.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Summary..........................................................     2
Background.......................................................     2
Committee Consideration and Vote.................................     4
Oversight Findings and Recommendations...........................     4
New Budget Authority, Tax Expenditures, and Federal Mandates.....     4
Directed Rule Making.............................................     4
Non-Duplication of Federal Programs..............................     5
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     5
Congressional Accountability Act.................................     5
New Advisory Committees..........................................     5
Earmark Identification...........................................     5
Section-by-Section Analysis......................................     5
Dissenting Views.................................................     6

                                SUMMARY

    House Resolution 158 requests the President, and directs 
the Secretary of State to transmit, respectively, to the House 
of Representatives, not later than 14 days after the date of 
the adoption of this resolution, copies of all documents, 
charts, or tables, including notes from meetings, audio 
recordings, records (including telephone and email records), 
correspondence, and other communications, and any financial 
statements detailing purchases, recipients, and government 
expenditures to the extent that any such one or more items are 
within the possession of the President or Secretaries 
aforementioned, respectively, and refer or relate to 
congressionally appropriated funds directed to the nation of 
Ukraine--whether in regard to military, civilian, or financial 
aid--between January 20, 2021 to February 24, 2023.

                               BACKGROUND

    According to House rules and precedents, House Resolution 
158 qualifies for consideration as a resolution of inquiry. 
Although the resolution does not have the requisite cosponsors 
typically required for committee action under committee rules 
(25 cosponsors, including 10 committee members), clause 7 of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House requires the committee to 
act on resolutions of inquiry within 14 legislative days.
    The Committee is committed to--and is in the process of--
conducting vigorous oversight of the congressionally-
appropriated security, humanitarian, and economic assistance to 
Ukraine being provided by the Department of State and United 
States Agency for International Development (USAID). It is 
unfortunate that this resolution was drafted and introduced 
without regard for the robust oversight already underway. It is 
also unfortunate that some misunderstand strong oversight as 
somehow at odds with strong U.S. support for Ukraine's self-
defense against Vladimir Putin's brutal, illegal invasion. To 
the contrary, such oversight is critical for maintaining strong 
U.S. support, and for ensuring that such support is effective.
    The Committee is advancing transparency and accountability 
not only to fulfill its constitutionally-mandated 
responsibility to conduct oversight of our constituents' 
taxpayer dollars, but also to sustain U.S. and allied support 
for Ukraine. The American people have a right to know how U.S. 
assistance responding to Russia's war in Ukraine is being 
spent, and how the safeguards in place are ensuring that there 
is no fraud, waste, or misuse involving American taxpayer 
money.
    The Committee's first classified briefing of the 118th 
Congress with the Biden Administration was on Russia's 
unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. The Chairman then 
led a Congressional Delegation to Poland and Ukraine from 
February 19-23, 2023 to receive a firsthand perspective of how 
U.S. assistance to Ukraine is being used to support a Ukrainian 
victory as soon as possible. The delegation met with the 101st 
Airborne Division, USAID's Disaster Assistance Response Team in 
Poland, Embassy Kyiv staff, and President Zelenskyy in Ukraine, 
to deepen its understanding of the transparency and 
accountability mechanisms the U.S. has in place to track U.S. 
weapon systems sent to the frontlines, and to ensure that our 
non-security assistance reaches its intended beneficiaries. The 
delegation was encouraged to learn that, to date, no 
significant acts of fraud or misuse involving U.S. assistance 
have occurred.
    The Subcommittee on Europe's first official activity of the 
118th Congress was a briefing with State Department and USAID 
officials on the transparency and accountability safeguards in 
place for U.S. aid to Ukraine. The briefing focused on U.S. 
humanitarian and economic assistance, particularly the 
accountability mechanisms and planned audits for the $22.9 
billion in direct budget support, as well as U.S. diplomatic 
efforts to encourage greater assistance to Ukraine from U.S. 
allies and partners. Later this month, the Committee will hold 
a hearing with the inspectors general from the Department of 
Defense, Department of State, and USAID to hear their 
assessments of the transparency and accountability mechanisms 
the Administration has put in place for U.S. assistance to 
Ukraine. In this hearing, Members will also have the 
opportunity to evaluate the inspectors' general Joint Strategic 
Oversight Plan for monitoring, tracking, and accounting for the 
totality of assistance provided to Ukraine. This will be the 
first time any of the inspectors general have appeared publicly 
before this Committee since the beginning of Russia's full-
scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
    Likewise, Committee staff have organized biweekly briefings 
with Administration officials to discuss updates on the war and 
U.S. support for Ukraine. Committee staff have also requested 
briefings from the Department of State and USAID on each 
advanced notification of how the Administration plans to spend 
U.S. government-provided assistance to ensure that every dollar 
of American taxpayer funding directly contributes to Ukraine's 
war effort and that the relevant oversight mechanisms are 
functioning.
    However, the Administration continues to fail to answer 
critical questions about the end goal for U.S. assistance to 
Ukraine. A pledge to ``support Ukraine for as long as it 
takes'' is, unfortunately, not a strategy. Moreover, the 
Committee remains frustrated by the Administration's opaque and 
constantly changing rationales for refusing to provide Ukraine 
with critical weapon systems, such as ATACMS, which would help 
Ukraine win the war quickly and avert a bloody stalemate which 
will benefit Vladimir Putin and ultimately cost taxpayers more.
    Notably, this resolution requests information from the 
Administration starting on January 20, 2021--more than a full 
year before Russia's unprovoked war of aggression began. 
Congress needs to closely examine the Administration's failure 
of deterrence leading up to Russia's full-scale invasion so 
that, in the future, such brutal wars of aggression can be 
deterred by American strength, not encouraged by American 
weakness. Thus the Committee also intends to conduct oversight 
to obtain detailed answers regarding critical administration 
decisions that preceded the February 24, 2022 Russian invasion, 
including:
           The administration's flawed decision to 
        agree to a clean, five-year extension of the New START 
        Treaty mere days after President Biden was sworn in, a 
        unilateral concession to Putin which gave him exactly 
        what he wanted and demanded nothing in return;
           the administration's decision to waive 
        congressionally-mandated sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 
        pipeline, threatening the credibility of Western 
        sanctions at a critical juncture;
           how the surrender to the Taliban and the 
        disastrous, unconditional withdrawal of U.S. troops 
        from Afghanistan emboldened Vladimir Putin and damaged 
        U.S. credibility with our allies, partners, and 
        adversaries alike; and
           the failure of the administration to provide 
        significant security assistance to Ukraine or impose 
        severe sanctions on the Putin regime in the months 
        leading up to Russia's full-scale invasion, despite 
        tens of thousands of Russian troops amassing on 
        Ukraine's borders and intelligence indicating that the 
        invasion was imminent.
    The Foreign Affairs Committee is dedicated to pursuing 
clarity on all of these issues to ensure that U.S. assistance 
is funding a sound strategy, and to maintain robust 
Congressional oversight. House Resolution 158 is consistent 
with that aim.

                    COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION AND VOTE

    On March 24, 2023, the committee marked up House Resolution 
158 pursuant to notice, in open session. The committee agreed 
to a motion to report the resolution favorably to the House by 
a record vote of 26 ayes to 20 noes.
    On the vote to report H. Res. 158 to the House favorably:
    Voting aye (26): McCaul, Smith, Wilson, Perry, Issa, 
Wagner, Mast, Burchett, Green, Barr, R. Jackson (TX), Y. Kim 
(CA), Salazar, Huizenga, Radewagen, Hill, Davidson, Baird, 
Waltz, Kean, Lawler, Mills, McCormick, Moran, James, Self.
    Voting no (20): Meeks, Connolly, Keating, Cicilline, Bera, 
Titus, Lieu, Wild, Phillips, Allred, A. Kim (NJ), Jacobs, 
Manning, Cherfilus-McCormick, Stanton, Dean, J. Jackson (IL), 
Kamlager-Dove, Crow, Schneider.

                 OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    In compliance with Clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee reports that the 
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on 
oversight activities under Clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
``Background'' section of this report, above.

      NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, TAX EXPENDITURES, AND FEDERAL MANDATES

    Clause 3(c)(2) of House rule XIII and the Unfunded Mandates 
Reform Act (Public Law 104-4) are inapplicable because House 
Resolution 158 does not provide new budget authority or 
increased tax expenditures.

                          DIRECTED RULE MAKING

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of House rule XIII, the 
committee notes that House Resolution 158 contains no directed 
rule-making provisions.

                  NON-DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS

    Clause 3(c)(5) of House rule XIII is not applicable to this 
resolution, as it is not a bill or joint resolution that 
establishes or reauthorizes a federal program.

                    PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

    Clause 3(c)(4) of House rule XIII is not applicable to this 
resolution, as it is not a measure that authorizes funding.

                    CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

    House Resolution 158 does not apply to terms and conditions 
of employment or to access to public services or accommodations 
within the legislative branch.

                        NEW ADVISORY COMMITTEES

    House Resolution 158 does not establish or authorize any 
new advisory committees.

                         EARMARK IDENTIFICATION

    House Resolution 158 contains no congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as described 
in clauses 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of House rule XXI.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    The resolution is comprised of a single clause identifying 
materials being requested from the President and the Secretary 
of State.

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

    Rather than engaging in constructive oversight through the 
various mechanisms at Congress' disposal and through the 
legislative process, the sponsors of H. Res. 158 are 
politicizing oversight, as evidenced by the cosponsors' 
decision to request documentation dating only back to the 
beginning of the Biden Administration. This timeline fails to 
consider the significant U.S. assistance provided to Ukraine 
for almost a decade to withstand sustained malign Kremlin 
influence and armed aggression.
    The House Foreign Affairs Committee has consistently 
spearheaded thorough oversight of congressionally appropriated 
political-military, humanitarian, and economic assistance to 
Ukraine for decades. Likewise, the Administration has 
voluntarily and regularly provided briefings, documentation, 
and justifications for assistance to Ukraine to the committees 
of jurisdiction--and to the Congress--in an effort to 
facilitate Congress' legislative and oversight 
responsibilities. The Department of State (State), Department 
of Defense (DOD), and U.S. Agency for International Development 
(USAID) have provided advance notification and detailed 
breakdowns of how American taxpayer funding would be spent 
ahead of every tranche of U.S. government-provided assistance. 
Additionally, Executive Branch officials and the State, DOD, 
and USAID Inspectors General have briefed the Committee on 
their detailed plan to monitor, track, and account for the 
totality of assistance provided to Ukraine--as well as to 
assess for themselves the established safeguards on U.S. 
assistance. Committee Democrats are firmly in favor of these 
unprecedented oversight efforts as U.S. assistance continues to 
be provided to Ukraine, including the Committee's upcoming 
hearing with the State, DOD, and USAID inspectors general on 
their efforts to monitor Ukraine assistance. Such oversight is 
important not only to deter potential waste, fraud, or abuse in 
the provision of U.S. assistance, but also to ensure that the 
assistance supports the United States' national security 
objectives.
    Since Russia's February 2022 renewed invasion of Ukraine, 
the Committee has held dozens of public briefings, hearings, 
and closed briefings on the war in Ukraine and related issues 
at the Member level. State, often with participation from the 
DOD--has provided Committee Staff, on a biweekly basis and 
totaling over 25 separate engagements, updates on the status of 
the war as well as on U.S., ally, and partner assistance 
efforts to Ukraine. Additionally, State and USAID have briefed 
Committee staff on nearly 20 occasions on non-security 
assistance to Ukraine and the operating status of Embassy Kyiv. 
Altogether, the Administration has engaged on more than 60 
occasions with the Congress at the staff and Member level about 
the war in Ukraine, the assistance the United States is 
providing, assistance our allies and partners are providing, 
and related security issues. This includes several hearings and 
briefings at the Cabinet-level or Deputy-level. This regular 
series of briefings and information exchanges between the 
executive and legislative branches and the relevant inspectors 
general has continued unabated since the 117th Congress and is 
unprecedented.
    The very sponsors of this resolution of inquiry--including 
Members of this Committee--and others launching attacks on the 
transparency of the Biden Administration's response to the war 
in Ukraine have failed to participate actively in many of the 
briefings and other opportunities made available to learn about 
the U.S. strategy to support Ukraine to defeat Russia. 
Furthermore, their public comments minimize the threat posed by 
the Kremlin to U.S. national security and bluntly assert that 
the Biden Administration's vital assistance to Ukraine should 
cease. Such attempts to politicize Ukraine oversight--including 
through unfounded claims in this report attempting to blame 
President Biden for President Putin's unprovoked, unjustified 
war--only strengthen Russia's hand. While Committee Democrats 
will remain engaged in rigorous oversight of U.S. funding to 
support Ukraine and our other allies and partners, H. Res. 158 
is a dangerous fishing expedition that chooses partisanship 
over responsible oversight and transatlantic unity.
            Sincerely,
                                          Gregory W. Meeks,
                                                    Ranking Member.