Schneider Leads Bipartisan Letter Calling for Full Supplemental Request Without Offsets
WASHINGTON— Today, Congressmen Brad Schneider (IL-10) led a bipartisan letter calling for “the full supplemental funding request supporting Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan together, as well as securing our southern border.” Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the middle East and North Africa Joe Wilson (SC-02), Co-chair of the Ukraine Caucus Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25) signed the letter.
“We beseech you not to separate aid for Israel’s fight to rescue its hostages and secure its borders from Ukraine’s fight to do the same, or from Taiwan’s efforts to deter a war. All are crucial priorities for the United States. The introduction of offsets, or the potential deferral of our commitments, threatens not only our national interest, but also our long-term fiscal health. It is far better and less costly in blood and treasure to ensure Russia, Iran, and Hamas are defeated in their current wars than it will be if they achieve strategic victories against Ukraine or Israel,” read the letter.
The full letter can be found here and below:
Dear Speaker Johnson:
America is at its best and the world is at its safest when we lead, joined by our friends and allies. Our enemies and our strategic competitors are actively working — individually and in tandem — to undermine the postwar, rules-based international order. The United States must not shrink from the burdens of our responsibilities as we and our fellow democracies across the world face threats not seen in decades. Congress has a paramount role in this fight for the ideals of national sovereignty and security. In particular, we must demonstrate to our allies and our enemies that we are not just able, we are committed to supporting Israel, Ukraine, and our friends in the Indo-Pacific as they defend themselves.
On October 7th, Hamas — the Iran-backed terrorist group governing Gaza — launched a war against Israel by firing thousands of rockets indiscriminately at civilian communities and sending thousands of its fighters across the border to murder, rape and kidnap Israelis. More than 1,400 people were slaughtered, thousands wounded, and at least 225 taken to Gaza as hostages, including many Americans. This unconscionable crime was unquestionably financed and supported by Iran, with its tentacles undermining societies throughout the Middle East. Beyond Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, Iran has been financing, arming, and training forces of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Assad regime in Syria, the Houthis in Yemen, and numerous militias fighting in Iraq.
The Hamas war in Gaza was launched as Russia continues its illegal war of conquest against Ukraine. Putin’s war against Ukraine cannot be separated from that of Hamas’s war against Israel, as both seek to defeat and destroy democracies on their borders, both are intended as a first step of conquest not the last, and both are supported by Iran. The Treasury Department has been leading efforts to counter Iranian drone deliveries to Russia, and on October 26 Hamas was hosted in Moscow by the Russian regime to discuss “Zionist crimes supported by the United States and the West.”
Furthermore, as we confront perilous threats to the free world in Europe and the Middle East of magnitudes not seen since World War II, the United States must also vigorously maintain its commitment to our vitally important strategic imperatives in the Indo-Pacific, in particular challenges posed by China. Last week, the U.S. renewed warnings that our “defense commitment to the Philippines is ironclad,” following incidents with Chinese vessels in the South China Sea. This comes on top of a brutal campaign by the Chinese Communist Party against Uyghurs, Tibetans, and the people of Hong Kong, as well as threats against China’s neighbors, especially Taiwan.
Free people around the world share in the desire for peace and prosperity. Free nations, committed to the rule of law and international norms, help protect the United States’ interests across the globe. As the leader of the free world, America has a moral responsibility to help our allies defend their borders and defeat their aggressors — enemies who ultimately seek to destroy our country as well.
The United States must help secure Israel and the greater Middle East, Europe, and the Indo-Pacific so that our future generations can live free from the threats of totalitarianism and religious extremism. America can and will rise to these challenges. Although the vast majority of the price in blood and treasure will be born by our allies, Congress must do its part to make sure the citizen soldiers defending Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan have what they need to protect their democracies, and by extension, our national security.
That is why we beseech you not to separate aid for Israel’s fight to rescue its hostages and secure its borders from Ukraine’s fight to do the same, or from Taiwan’s efforts to deter a war. All are crucial priorities for the United States. The introduction of offsets, or the potential deferral of our commitments, threatens not only our national interest, but also our long-term fiscal health. It is far better and less costly in blood and treasure to ensure Russia, Iran, and Hamas are defeated in their current wars than it will be if they achieve strategic victories against Ukraine or Israel.
We are living through a precarious global period and it is critically important that, as it was in generations past, our partisan politics stop at the water’s edge. In this historic moment, we urge you to bring to the floor the full supplemental funding request supporting Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan together, as well as securing our southern border, so that all Members of Congress can vote their consciences on this essential legislation.
Thank you for your consideration.
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