Shaheen Speaks on Senate Floor in Support of Ukraine Aid and Urges House to Pass Bipartisan National Security Supplemental Funding Deal

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, spoke on the Senate floor to urge House Republicans to move forward the national security supplemental funding legislation passed by the Senate in February. She spoke in support of Ukraine’s continued fight for democracy and freedom and advocated for our allies and partners across the globe in need of U.S. support. Shaheen highlighted that America’s adversaries are watching what the U.S. does next and urged Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives to act now. Senator Shaheen’s remarks can be viewed here. 

Key quotes from Senator Shaheen:

• “If you’re concerned about what China is doing, if you're concerned about what Iran is doing, the best way to deal a blow to these authoritarians is to support the Ukrainians in their effort to defeat Putin. We have a chance to take a stand for freedom and democracy, if only our House colleagues would finally pass the national security supplemental.” 
• “A destabilized Europe as a result of Ukraine losing this war would be a disaster for the U.S. economy. In my state of New Hampshire alone, we export about $3 billion each year to Europe, which is our largest trading partner. Putin poses a serious threat to our security and a peaceful, prosperous future.” 
• “We can depend on our allies, and they must be able to depend on us. Let's remind ourselves that our NATO allies stood by our side after September 11th. Right now, leaders from around the world are looking for the United States to step up and pass this bill. What message does it send to our allies if we ignore their pleas for support to save lives and ensure our collective security? What message does it send to our grandchildren if we tell them that we're willing to gamble sending them to fight in another war in Europe? Because if there's one thing we know, it's that Putin is not going to stop in Ukraine.” 

Below is a full transcript of Shaheen’s remarks. 

In light of the unprecedented attacks by Iranian forces on Israel over the weekend, and on the 64th day since the Senate passed a bipartisan national security supplemental bill, I come to the floor to once again call on the House to pass critical funding for Ukraine, for Israel, for the Indo-Pacific and—importantly—for our own national security needs at home.   

Over the past six months, I’ve worked with Senators from both sides of the aisle to urge passage of supplemental funding to support out national security.  

And I am beyond disappointed that Speaker Johnson and House Republicans have delayed much-needed critical aid—especially given that the Senate-passed bill that passed here with seventy bipartisan votes—I believe and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle believe—that that would pass the House, if only the Speaker would bring the bill to the floor.  

Now, we hear this week that House Republicans may be nearing a vote on this aid, and while I'm encouraged by that, it is way past time for us to help the courageous Ukrainian who are fighting literally for the life of their country.  

As chair of the European Subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee, like so many in this chamber, I’ve met with President Zelenskyy, traveled to Ukraine, met with the women and men who are on the frontlines of this war. I know the dire state of affairs right now against Russia.   

We’ve heard from our nation’s top 4-star generals, every single combatant commander they have stressed the importance of what happens in Ukraine to operations elsewhere around the world.  

Fortunately, Ukrainians remain fearless in the face of the brutality and aggression from Russia.  

But what the United States and our allies must continue do at this critical juncture, is provide the military and economic support to help Ukraine win and define victory on its own terms.  

We must act now to ensure Ukraine’s continued survival.   

We’ve heard testimony that, right now, for every shell that’s being fired by the Ukrainians, five are being fired by Russia, and if we wait another month or more, it will be ten for every shell that Ukraine is firing.  

And ensuring Ukraine’s survival is not just about Ukraine, it’s about pushing back on Vladimir Putin’s campaign to return to the days of Soviet occupation and oppression.   

We’ve seen this movie before with Vladimir Putin. 

In 2008, he invaded Georgia, in 2014 he illegally annexed Crimea and parts of the Donbas in Ukraine, and then, of course, two years ago, he launched his unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine.  

If he wins—if the West fails to support Ukraine—we know that Vladimir Putin is not going to stop.   

We’ve heard from leaders of the Baltic nations, of Poland, of other states in Eastern Europe—their fears if Vladimir Putin is successful in Ukraine.    

And instead of letting Vladimir Putin rewrite the rules of the road, we should put an end to his thinking that he can do as he pleases without consequences.   

Delays by the House of Representatives to pass this supplemental has only enabled Putin’s delusional agenda.  

We’ve already heard from the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Mike Turner, and Chairman Mike McCaul of the House Foreign Affairs Committee who have already said that a third of the Republican caucus are listing and spouting Russian disinformation. 

And this isn’t just about Ukraine: American aid and support deters other bad actors from initiating conflict in other parts of the world.   

And six months of inaction by this Congress has enabled our adversaries.   

We saw it as recently as this weekend when Iranian forces fired off hundreds of drones and rockets towards Israel.   

And now as there is a potential for a broader war in the Middle East that could imperil more innocent lives and make the world more dangerous, it is more important than ever that we take action in Congress. Because these episodes, Ukraine, the attack on Israel, what’s happening in the Indo-Pacific, don’t happen in silos.  

Our adversaries are connected—they are sharing weapons and reveling in our inability to act.   

Iran is currently supplying more than 70 percent of Russia’s drone capabilities; a top Chinese official was just in North Korea for the highest-level talks in years; and the Secretary General of NATO branded this partnership as a “dangerous authoritarian alliance.”   

And he is right. This group of dictators, autocrats and adversaries threatens democracies— it’s a threat very much like what we faced in the lead up to World War II.    

And if we don’t pass this supplemental, our adversaries, like Iran, will expand their own campaigns of aggression.   

If you’re concerned about what China is doing, if you are concerned about what Iran is doing, the best way to deal a blow to these authoritarians is to support the Ukrainians in their effort to defeat Putin. 

We have a chance to take a stand for freedom and democracy, if only our House colleagues would finally pass the national security supplemental.   

I just got back from the Indo-Pacific with a Congressional delegation that included six members of the Senate and one member of the House, it was bipartisan and bicameral. 

And what we heard in the nations that we visited in the Indo-Pacific, was that they understood the connection between what’s going on in Ukraine and what’s happening with China, with great power competition, with the aggression in the Indo-Pacific and the South China Sea and against Taiwan. 

If the House would pass the national security supplemental, we could degrade Russia, we could degrade the Iranian military capabilities and we could do it without costing American lives.  

We could boost our economy through our defense industrial base. And support for Ukraine and our allies isn’t a blank check, it’s not charity. The United States is providing Ukraine with critical equipment to defend itself and its territory.   

This equipment is pulled from U.S. stocks, which also means that its putting people to work back at home.   

But despite misinformation from too many House Republicans, a majority of the funding in the bill the Senate sent over more than 60 days ago is spent in the United States.  

It would be spent to replenish our own military stocks so that we can continue to meet our military requirements. It would shore up our military readiness and ensure the U.S. industrial base can keep up with demand.  

A destabilized Europe as a result of Ukraine losing this war would be a disaster for the U.S. economy.  

In my home state of New Hampshire alone, we export about three billion dollars each year to Europe, which is our largest trading partner.   

Putin poses a serious threat to our security and a peaceful, prosperous future. 

Our allies know this and that’s why, by the end of this year, eighteen NATO countries will meet the two percent defense spending goal set by the Alliance.   

This historic investment in our collective security shows that the United States is not shouldering this burden alone.     

We can depend on our allies, and they must be able to depend on us. Let’s remind ourselves that our NATO allies stood by our side after September 11th.   

Right now, leaders from around the world are looking for the United States to step up and pass this bill.  

What message does it send to our allies if we ignore their pleas for support to save lives and ensure our collective security?   

What message does it send to our grandchildren, if we tell them that we’re are willing to gamble sending them to fight in another war in Europe?   

Because if there’s one thing we know, it’s that Putin is not going to stop in Ukraine.  

America doesn’t back down when it’s called upon to defend freedom, at least we never have. Ukraine is now on the front line of the fight for democracy and freedom.   

We have the resources to act. We have the ability to act. Now it’s time for everyone in the House to fight the courage to act, because failure is not an option.  

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