Senator Coons on passage of Ukraine supplemental

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs (SFOPS), released the following statement today after the Senate passed and sent to President Biden's desk a $39 billion emergency spending bill to aid the Ukrainian people, nearly half of which is SFOPS funding:

"For months, the Ukrainian people have bravely defended their homeland in the face of a brutal invasion by Putin's military. Today the United States has sent a clear message that we will continue to stand with Ukraine against tyranny and in defense of the rule of law by sending them an additional $39 billion in military, economic and humanitarian aid.

"I am especially pleased that more than $5 billion is included in this bill for food security. Ukraine, the bread basket of Europe, will grow at least one-third less wheat this year. Unless we act now, this will have destabilizing effects in Eastern Europe and countries around the world that depend on their grain exports. This funding is a needed step towards preventing a regional and global hunger crisis resulting from Russia's invasion, made worse by prolonged droughts and the COVID-19 pandemic, that would have devastating consequences for hundreds of millions of people."\

"Congress still has more work to do, however. There were crucial provisions that should have been in this package that we must immediately turn to, such as the Afghan Adjustment Act that will provide a pathway to permanent residency for Afghans evacuated and resettled in the United States who supported U.S. forces for 20 years at great personal risk. Congress must also pass a COVID-19 supplemental that includes funding to combat the pandemic globally. America may want to be done with the pandemic, but the pandemic is not done with us, and the worst of this virus may still be ahead unless we act now to provide the funding to contain new variants at their source before they arrive at our shores. Our nation's moral and global leadership depends on us taking up and swiftly passing these two bills as well."

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