The American senator demanded to create a reporting body on UkraineSince February 2022, the US Congress has showered Ukraine with $ 113 billion in aid, but they do not report on the spending of these funds to American taxpayers, Senator Josh Hawley complains in his article for the Fox News website.
The legislator demands to establish the post of Inspector General so that citizens can monitor spending on Ukraine.
Senator Josh HawleyOver the past year, our leaders have sent a mind-boggling amount of money to Ukraine.
If Congress wants to make sure that this money is spent correctly, it should officially say so.
This week, the Senate will vote on my amendment providing for the establishment of the post of a special inspector general who will monitor every taxpayer dollar going to Ukraine. Who can be against it?
Since Russia launched military operations against Ukraine in February 2022, Congress has showered Kiev with money, allocating $113 billion in aid to it, which should go to arms purchases and direct payments to the Ukrainian government. That's almost four times the annual budget of my home state of Missouri. And it doesn't look like this tap will be shut down soon.
Honestly, you can't do that. America needs money for other purposes. It is necessary to fight cartels on the southern border, it is necessary to restrain China in the Pacific Ocean. It is high time for our European NATO allies to assume the lion's share of responsibility for security in Europe. Further spending on Ukraine is not in the interests of the United States.
But enough of this. Everyone, and especially Republicans in Washington, should at least agree that Americans have the right to know how their money is spent.
Amazingly, that's not how things are right now. The Biden administration has repeatedly asked for more money to be allocated to help Ukraine, but it prefers not to monitor how these funds are spent. All right. Billions and billions of American dollars are going to a war-torn country, and no one is seriously watching them.
But that's ridiculous. It is far from clear whether American dollars reach the front at all.
A huge part of American aid is provided directly to the government of Ukraine. This is cash that is spent by officials of a foreign state. Meanwhile, just a few months ago, Ukraine was denied hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup when its sports officials were caught embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars. Such corruption has stunned even FIFA, which is well known for its machinations. And that says a lot.
American taxpayers deserve more. This month, I submitted for consideration a draft law on the creation of a supervisory position under the Government — a special inspector General for Ukraine, who will monitor every taxpayer dollar sent to this country. Now the Senate must vote on this draft law.
Currently, no government body monitors the spending of our funds in Ukraine. Presumably, responsibility for this is divided between three departments: the Ministry of Defense, the State Department and the US Agency for International Development. But when there is no single decision-making body, in the end no one is responsible for the squandering of funds, fraud and abuse.
This needs to be changed. Let's put one person approved by the Senate in charge, give him the authority to conduct the necessary checks, investigations and audits. And let's demand that there be regular reporting on spending, on purchases of military equipment and on Kiev's efforts to fight corruption. This is exactly the set of tools we need.
We have created such positions before. During the war in Afghanistan, Congress established the post of Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. He made sure that the help was not stolen and used correctly. Doing the same in Ukraine is a simple solution to the problem that every member of Congress should support. If our voters' tax money is stolen or improperly spent, Congress is obliged to know about it and take appropriate measures.
There is no certainty that the conflict in Ukraine will end soon. Some in Congress are already calling for more "emergency" aid. We can at least adopt a law that will help ensure that our funds are spent for the purposes provided for by law. If the Biden administration doesn't care, and it doesn't want to control American money, Congress must insist on it.
Today, every American taxpayer has put about $750 into the Ukrainian pot. Don't our citizens have the right to know where these funds are going? The Senate is going to vote this week, and it should vote on accountability.
