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Senate Democrats banded together Wednesday night to oppose the creation of a new office to audit US military assistance for Ukraine as part of a provision in the annual defense spending bill. Forty-five Democrats — including every member of the Senate Armed Services Committee — voted down an amendment to establish an Office of the Lead Inspector General for Ukraine Assistance as part of the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) also joined the Democrats in rejecting the new oversight office.

Kiel Institute support tracker from downloaded data XLS file. All aid to Ukraine cumulative from 2/22/2022 to 5/31/2023 Country $billion %GDP Australia 0.46 0.03 Austria 2.04 0.43 Belgium 1.90 0.32 Bulgaria 0.48 0.57 Canada 5.73 0.29 Croatia 0.36 0.53 Cyprus 0.06 0.22 Czech Republic 1.57 0.56 Denmark 3.01 0.76 Estonia 0.54 1.46 EU (Commission and Council) 29.84 0.17 Finland 1.97 0.66 France 8.11 0.27 Germany 19.58 0.46 Greece 0.74 0.34 Hungary 0.48 0.27 Iceland 0.03 0.13 Ireland 0.84 0.17 Italy 6.28 0.30 Japan 7.19 0.15 Latvia 0.51 1.28 Lithuania 0.76 1.14 Luxembourg 0.22 0.26 Malta 0.03 0.19 Netherlands 7.24 0.71...

OceanGate Expeditions, the company behind the Titan submersible disaster, was forgiven of its $450,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan, according to the ProPublica PPP Loan Database. OceanGate builds submersibles for tourism and research, but its inherently risky business model raises questions, and led to the tragic deaths of five people in the ocean in June. Its liability waiver for sub tourism mentioned the possibility of death three times on the first page alone. Now, some are accusing the company of cutting corners. James Cameron, the renowned Titanic explorer and director of the 1997 movie, said, "I was very suspect of the...

Though many Americans likely believe that US dollars allocated for Ukraine are spent directly on supplies for the war effort, the lead author of this report, Heather Kaiser, conducted a thorough review of Washington’s budget for the 2022 and 2023 fiscal year and discovered that is far from the case.

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than $200 billion may have been stolen from two large COVID-19 relief initiatives, according to new estimates from a federal watchdog investigating federally funded programs that helped small businesses survive the worst public health crisis in more than a hundred years. The numbers issued Tuesday by the U.S. Small Business Administration inspector general are much greater than the office’s previous projections and underscore how vulnerable the Paycheck Protection and COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs were to fraudsters, particularly during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.

AFP — African countries are casting a worried eye as the West pumps aid into Ukraine, sensing a retreat in pledges to help their development and fight climate change. According to the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), assistance for Ukraine in 2022 shot up to $16 billion, compared to less than a billion a year earlier, while that for Africa fell by eight percent to $29 billion. Supporters of Ukraine say the help is vital for shoring up a country whose collapse would send shockwaves across Europe and beyond. Ukraine’s economy contracted by almost a third last...

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said on Monday a Senate Republican package to provide additional Ukraine aid in supplemental spending is not “going anywhere” in the House. McCarthy signaled to Punchbowl News that any additional aid for Ukraine’s protracted conflict with Russia would have to come from the annual appropriations process as part of the Pentagon’s $866 billion in discretionary spending, which was agreed to in the debt ceiling deal, otherwise known as the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

The $48 billion Ukraine aid package that Congress approved in December has about $6 billion left, meaning U.S. funding for weapons and supplies could dry up by midsummer. That’s raising fresh concerns among lawmakers about what the White House is planning next, including when the administration will ask for another major package and whether it will be enough.Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a senior appropriator, indicated the appropriations process would likely be the next time Congress would provide funding unless the situation changed substantially on the ground.“I think you'll see it in appropriations,” Murkowski said in an interview. “It's not making...

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) says U.S. military and economic aid will continue to flow into Ukraine despite calls from some in his party for the United States to pull back from the war. The future of U.S. support for Ukraine in its war against Russia has been clouded by some uncertainty since Republicans took control of the House in last year’s midterm election and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) pledged there would be no “blank check” for Ukraine if Republicans gained the lower chamber.

@RandPaul Unrestrained U.S. aid for Ukraine must come to an end, and we will adamantly oppose all future aid packages unless they are linked to a clear diplomatic strategy designed to bring this war to a rapid conclusion.

The United States will send Ukraine another $350 million in military assistance including more missiles and air defense ammunition, the Biden administration announced Monday. The lethal aid package includes more ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and howitzers, as well as ammunition for Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, High-speed Anti-radiation missiles, anti-tank weapons and riverine boats, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. A separate Defense Department release said the package also included grenade launchers, heavy fuel tankers, mine clearing equipment, mortar systems and rounds and additional artillery. “This week, as Russia’s unconscionable war of aggression against...

The US will provide additional economic assistance of $10 billion to Ukraine in the coming days, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday. At a media briefing held on the sidelines of the first G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ (FMCBG) Meet, she said that the United States had already provided 46 billion dollars in security, economic and humanitarian aid.

Ukraine is not misusing the tens of billions of dollars in direct financial assistance it is receiving courtesy of U.S. taxpayers according to a top Biden administration official. Samantha Power, the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), gave the public affirmation during a CNN live town hall on Thursday evening. Her assurances came just hours ahead of the White House revealing it would give another $2 billion in military aid to Ukraine as its war with Russia officially hits the one-year mark, bringing the total amount of American military assistance to over $30 billion in one year.

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Sunday called Israel’s government “racist” and suggested that there should be strings attached to US aid to Israel. Speaking to CBS’ “Face the Nation”, Sanders was asked by interview Margaret Brennan if he thinks democracy is in peril in Israel. “I do. I am very worried about what Netanyahu is doing and some of his allies in government and what may happen to the Palestinian people,” replied the Senator, who is Jewish. “And let me tell you something, I mean, I haven't said this publicly. But I think the United States gives billions of dollars...

The Big Three networks ignored news that the Biden administration denied disaster assistance to Ohio’s pro-Trump Columbiana County following the toxic train derailment in East Palestine. Fox News reported Feb. 16 that Governor Mike DeWine (R-OH) spokesperson Dan Tierney said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) denied federal aid because it “believed the [train derailment] incident didn't qualify as a traditional disaster, such as a tornado or hurricane, for which it usually provides assistance.” The incident led to a controlled explosion and the spewing of hazardous fumes into the atmosphere, with reports of groundwater damage, dead animals and health issues...

For the first time since the beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, a draft resolution has been submitted to the US Congress, in which a group of American lawmakers demands that the administration of President Biden complete the process of allocating military assistance to Ukraine. The draft resolution is registered in the US House of Representatives, which, as you know, has been under the control of the Republican Party since the beginning of the year.The sponsor of the draft resolution is Congressman Matt Goetz, representing the above-mentioned party. He is elected from Florida. Goetz, by the way,...

Perun analysis of Aid to Ukraine, 1 hour + video- "Aid to Ukraine has evolved dramatically since February 2022, and there are few topics that have attracted more constant press coverage away from the battlefield itself. So today I try and set out how aid has evolved, who the major contributors are, and the impact aid has had - and may have in 2023." 00:00:00 — Opening Words 00:01:43 — What Am I Talking About? 00:03:21 — From Korea to Afghanistan 00:04:47 — AID PRE-2022 00:05:00 — The Ukrainian Military of 2014 00:08:27 — Made in Ukraine (with some help)...

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday that a lot of the U.S.’s military aid to Ukraine “could have been done sooner.” “I think the only thing I would have said is that a lot of this could have been done sooner,” Gates said when asked by Chuck Todd on NBC’s “Meet the Press” if he would have advised President Biden to do anything differently. “And, you know, they’re talking about potentially being six months, a year or more before the Abrams tanks get there,” he added. “I think the key thing about the Abrams tank decision was that...

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Thursday defended the continued aid that the United States is providing to Ukraine to defend itself against Russia, saying that as a country “we care about human life.” Romney said in a video post on his Twitter account that the U.S. support for Ukraine is both the “right thing” to do and necessary for U.S. national security interests. “I begin, of course, with just the humanitarian reality, which is we care about human life and about the suffering that’s going on in Ukraine,” he said. “We’re just appalled by the fact that Russia has invaded...

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Wednesday said that President Joe Biden’s latest aid package to Ukraine is “overdue.” “Well, I was happy to learn yesterday and this morning that, indeed, both the White House and their counterparts in Germany are finally moving forward with these overdue steps,” McConnell said in a floor speech in the United States Senate. “I have consistently called on the Biden Administration to be more proactive and to lead by example in delivering lethal aid like long-range weapons with greater urgency,” he added. “Germany has announced it will supply Ukraine with an initial 14...