Oleksander Ivanov Act of 2023

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her great leadership.

Madam Speaker, I stand here for the children. We must stand for the children. A little boy riding with his grandmother, Oleksandr Ivanov, was killed by the Russians and more children have been killed in all the conflicts that are going on.

We must move forward so that the humanitarian aid comes along with the aid that is needed to fight the Russians who have lost 87 percent of their military since they started. This can be winnable for the children. We need humanitarian aid in all the wars that are now going on, and I want to stand for that fight. The bill named after Oleksandr Ivanov is to protect our children wherever they are, humanitarian aid and war aid to ensure that the children are our priority. I hope that this fight will be won, and we will win for democracy and we will win for our children.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to support Ukraine as it stands up to tyranny and defends their sovereignty in the face of Russia's continued, unprovoked aggression. But I rise for the children in all wars--and I ask and demand humanitarian aid for children in all the wars.

We must send the unmistakable message that in the 21st Century, a dictator cannot conquer or carve up neighboring territories.

On February 24, 2022, Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, launched a premeditated war against Ukraine in an attack on democracy and a grave violation of international law, global peace, and security.

The war in Ukraine continues to severely impact people's lives and damage civilian infrastructure, triggering evacuations from front-line areas and driving humanitarian needs.

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, as of July 2023, there are a recorded 5.1 million internally displaced people in Ukraine, 6.2 million refugees from Ukraine globally, and 17.6 million Ukrainian people in need of humanitarian assistance.

The unjust and brutal war has put millions of Ukrainian women and children at risk of trafficking. Millions of children have been deprived of their education and are experiencing trauma, and according to a report by Yale University, more than 6,000 children are in Russians custody.

According to a report by Yale University Humanitarian Research Lab (Yale HRL), at least 6,000 children from Ukraine ages four months to 17 years have been held at camps and other facilities within Russia- occupied Crimea and mainland Russia since Russia's full-scale invasion began.

Forcibly transferring children of one group to another group is a violation of Article II(e) of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide 1948 and the Geneva Convention IV, including articles 24, 25, 50, 78 and 82.

Today, I call my colleagues to action and ask that they join me in seeking liberty and justice for all those in Ukraine.

Ukrainian children are being forcibly taken to Russia and put up for adoption into Russian families in an apparent effort to assimilate them, a practice that genocide scholar Timothy Snyder has said could be considered genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention.

Ukraine's Office of the Prosecutor General has confirmed more than 17,000 cases of Ukrainian children abducted to Russia. But the number is likely much higher.

The U.S. State Department has said it has reliable information that Russian authorities have deliberately separated Ukrainian children from their parents during so-called ``filtration'' procedures and abducted others from Ukrainian institutions before putting them up for adoption inside Russia and estimates that the number may be as high as 260,000.

This is only the first step in what appears to be a deliberate Russian policy.

Once Ukrainian children arrive in Russia--or in Russian-controlled part of Ukraine such as Crimea--they are put into Russian orphanages. After a short period, they are given Russian citizenship.

This is done because Russian law allows for the adoption of foreign children.

Last Spring Putin signed decrees streamlining the process for children to receive Russian citizenship and for adoption.

Families are also given financial incentives to adopt children.

In Russian custody, Ukrainian children are subjected to reeducation programs meant to ``Russify'' them, told that their parents no longer want them, and convinced that their future lies in Russia.

Disgustingly, Russian propaganda cynically portrays its adoption of Ukrainian children as an act of generosity that gives new homes to helpless orphans.

Russian state media shows local officials hugging and kissing newly arrived Ukrainian children and handing them Russian passports.

Many of these children are not orphans at all.

Ukrainian institutions also house children whose parents were not in position to take care of them for a period of time or who had special needs.

Once adopted, children's names and dates of birth are often changed, making it extremely difficult to find them and reunite them with their families in the future.

We need to act now to stop the abduction and forced assimilation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

We need to raise our concerns loudly and often and speak out to counter the disgusting Russian propaganda that would use children in this way.

We should consider whether there is a need to establish a registry to record data on children believed to have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territories to assist law enforcement and also future family reunification in the future.

Of course, any such system must protect children's personal information.

In addition, we should also look at what role international organizations might play in tracking and rescuing these children, including the Red Cross.

Further, Ukraine's children are suffering serious injury and trauma due to Russia's genocidal war on Ukraine.

According to the United Nations, almost two-thirds of the country's children have been displaced.

Thousands have been injured and, although UNICEF has said more than 1,000 children have been killed, that number is likely much, much higher as there is no reliable way to verify how many civilians have been killed in the most decimated areas of Ukraine, like Mariupol, where, just as one example, Russian forces bombed a theater housing hundreds of civilians despite clear markings that children were present.

In addition to the immediate dangers of war, the effects of war on children could have lasting consequences.

Many Ukrainian children have witnessed unimaginable violence, including the murders of their own parents or family members.

They have had to endure the stress of being under almost constant bombardment, in fear of their safety.

Others have experienced hunger, cold, and weeks spent hiding in wet, frigid basements without daylight or fresh air and without sanitation or healthcare.

This constant stress takes a heavy toll on the youngest victims of war.

Moreover, disruptions to education may never be fully recovered.

In this regard, I would like to recognize the Ukrainian government's exceptional campaign to keep children linked to their schools by mobilizing the remote learning infrastructure built up during the COVID-l9 pandemic, as well as the many European countries which have opened their schools to Ukrainian refugee children.

Children--and their families--need support to heal from the trauma they have experienced.

There are organizations on the ground providing psychological treatment, art therapy, humanitarian aid, and for some even new homes.

We all need to support such programs and to act now to ensure their continued action and expanded reach.

The longer children go without receiving treatment for their trauma, the longer it will take to heal.

There is also significant concern for the physical, mental, and psychological well-being of women in Ukraine.

Amnesty International reports that women in the country face grave risks, an increased burden of caring responsibilities and immense stress and hardships when living in war zones.

Amnesty International's Secretary General explains that ``Time and time again, women bear the brunt of war's brutality. They are consistently on the frontlines of conflict--as soldiers and fighters, doctors and nurses, volunteers, peace activists, carers for their communities and families, internally displaced people, refugees, and too often as victims and survivors.''

Women confront increased sexual and gender-based violence and perilous health conditions, while being forced to make life and death survival decisions for their families.

At the same time, women are often excluded from the decision-making processes and their rights and needs remain unprotected and unmet.

While many women in Ukraine have joined the resistance to Russian aggression, very often caregiving responsibilities for children and family members fall disproportionately on women.

Managing these caregiving responsibilities is especially difficult in the perilous conditions of the conflict.

A woman living in the conflict zone in Donetsk Oblast, told Amnesty International how the invasion has impacted her as a mother and caregiver for her parents: ``All changed for the worse. Men [from the family] are at war, women are left alone, many with small children on their backs without any income. There is no help--no physical help, no financial aid.''

The invasion has also had a distinct detrimental effect on women's mental, physical and sexual and reproductive health.

For menstruating women and girls, limited supplies any increased prices for menstruation management products are forcing them to choose between food and sanitary products.

I am especially concerned about reports of rape and sexual assault committed by Russian troops, not only of women, but also of children and men.

Gender-based violence is aggravated and intensified for those living in the conflict-affected regions for many reasons.

These include the lack of security, the absence or erosion of the rule of law, the pervasiveness of impunity for the perpetrators, and lack of trust in the occupying authorities, as well as the stigma attached to disclosing experiences of sexual and gender-based violence.

This is not only an effort to humiliate and terrorize, but also could amount to genocide as some women report being told by their tormenters that they would be raped until they could no longer have Ukrainian children.

Russia must be held accountable for their heinous actions and the war crimes they have committed against the women, children, and people of Ukraine.

I urge Congress to act to protect the safety, security, and well- being of the people of Ukraine, especially vulnerable populations like women and children.

Congress cannot remain complicit in the face of Russian aggression.

We must act to defend the rights and freedoms of Ukraine's children and all its people.

To hold accountable those who have committed these atrocities and have put the lives of thousands of Ukrainian women and children at risk, I introduced H.R. 5800, the Oleksander Ivanov Act.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record.

Madam Speaker, I rise tonight as co-chair and a founding member of the bipartisan, 94-member Congressional Ukraine Caucus. Our caucus supports the immediate consideration of legislation that will provide further supplemental funding for Ukraine to support our partner in liberty against the aggression of Putin's tyranny.

This is a moral struggle for liberty in our era. Liberty faces a new era of conflict being forced upon the free world by a burgeoning axis of tyranny and terrorism, including the likes of Russia, China, Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. Ukraine is the scrimmage line of that conflict for liberty. Their fight is our fight. The America I know does not cower in the face of tyranny.

Many Americans believe that the history of the struggle against global tyranny ended with the defeat of Nazi Germany and the fall of the Soviet Union. I am here today to tell them that liberty's history is still being written. We face not a new enemy but an old one. This is not a new struggle but one which America and our alliances of free nations have fought for nearly a century. Ukraine has fought for its liberty for centuries.

Let us not forget a key reason why there is a war in Ukraine. When the Soviet Union collapsed, as a newly independent nation in 1991, it became the third largest nuclear power in the world. However, as a responsible nation, Ukraine signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons at the behest of the United States and the demand of Russia and gave up its stockpile of nuclear weapons.

In exchange, Ukraine's security was to be guaranteed under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum signed by the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom. However, Russia, even though it was the recipient of Ukraine's nuclear arsenal, betrayed its commitments when it invaded Ukraine in 2014. We must not betray ours.

Ukraine has been building her fledgling democracy since 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union's tyranny that President Ronald Reagan called the ``evil empire.'' That remains one of the most consequential moments in world history. Liberty won. Ukraine has faced many challenges in her endeavor for liberty as it steadfastly moves to join the European Union of free nations, America's closest allies.

To thwart Ukraine's desire for liberty and independence from Russia's malevolent influence, Putin first invaded Ukraine in 2014, 4 days after Russia's hosting the international Sochi Olympics with all of that fancy publicity. Now, 8 years later, Putin launched his war of unprovoked aggression on Ukraine in 2022. Much of the world was convinced there was no way the Ukrainian David could defeat a Russian Goliath. Ukraine's entire territory encompasses only 3 percent of the territory of Russia and its population is only 25 percent of Russia's, and yet Ukraine fights and fights hard. She has never asked us to fight for her, only for global allies to arm her so she can defend herself. So far, we have done so, and to great effect. We must stay the course, not waiver.

President Zelenskyy, who is again visiting Washington today, and the Ukrainian people have stood up to Putin. Ukraine's valiant soldiers have actually moved their military to liberate 50 percent of all the territory that was once occupied by Russian tyranny and decimated as much as 40 percent of Russia's military capacity.

It is important to put the resources that we have provided for Ukraine's defense against Russia into perspective. To date, Congress, in a repeated bipartisan fashion, has appropriated roughly $113 billion for Ukraine, of which every penny has been accounted for.

Furthermore, we know that at least 60 percent of the money that is appropriated for Ukraine is spent right here in the United States, not in Ukraine, to purchase important commodities. It is funding that is going directly toward bolstering our diminished military industrial base, and our American workforce benefits, including those in Lima, Ohio, which produces the greatest tank in the world, the Abrams tank. Every dollar spent is closely and appropriately accounted for to ensure none of the funds fall into the wrong hands.

During the Cold War, we spent $13 trillion measured in 1996 dollars to combat Russian aggression, equivalent to $26 trillion today. The sum per year that we provide supporting Ukraine is no more than 20 percent of what we spent each year for four decades to contain Russia.

America's alliance with our NATO partners has helped ensure European nations have bolstered our support to Ukraine with their own. As a percent of GDP, 15 European countries have so far provided a higher level to Ukraine than the United States.

This is the costliest war in human casualties and plunder since World War II in Europe, the continent on which over 500,000 U.S. soldiers are buried from World War I and World War II. They bequeathed liberty to us, and we must never fail their memory. The murderous dictatorships of Nazism, communism, and imperialism lay dead, and the 20th century's most consequential achievement was, in fact, that. Now, that cost in blood is being borne by Ukraine and the Ukrainian people alone.

The fact remains that if America were to end its support of Ukraine, Russia would be able to defeat it. Putin is not counting the numbers of rubles or Russian lives he is spending on this conflict. What he is counting are the number of votes for Ukraine that remain in this U.S. Congress. He knows that American support will decide the victor of this conflict. So should we.

If Putin succeeds in Ukraine or if we grow tired of a forever war we are not even fighting in, then we allow tyranny to ascend over liberty. Putin has made clear he would then test our resolve over smaller, much harder-to-defend NATO members, a move that would force the United States and our NATO allies into direct war with Russia. America and the free world have much at stake.

As one European ambassador reminded me, there is an old saying that states: If you think you are an isolationist, if you take no interest in foreign affairs, take my word, foreign affairs will find you.

We face a choice now. America can repeat the mistakes of the 1920s by withdrawing our nearly century-long support for liberty, inevitably forcing the free world to pay a higher price for freedom as tyranny deepens its roots in our world, or America must take a stand now and provide further funding for Ukraine to help secure liberty for a new generation.

I call upon the Speaker and my colleagues in the House to choose the path of liberty.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Rogers).

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York

(Mr. Meeks), the esteemed ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Quigley).

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson), and I thank him for his leadership on his side of the aisle.

Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Himes).

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), who is one of our preeminent leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr). Kentucky and Ohio have sent so many soldiers to war, and we know we both benefit from their valorous service.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his words.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer). Our distinguished leader, Congressman Steny Hoyer, has spent hours and hours and days and weeks and months working on the issues of liberty across the European Continent.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his decades of leadership.

Madam Speaker, may I ask how much time remains.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), who is the Speaker

Emerita of the United States House of Representatives.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman and I thank every Member, on both sides of the aisle, that have spent this much time today in furtherance of this very noble objective so Ukraine wins and wins soon.

Madam Speaker, I now yield to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania, Congresswoman Madeleine Dean, a very hardworking member of our caucus.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California, Congressman John Garamendi, a leader on so many fronts here in the Congress, including Ukraine.

Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Cincinnati, Ohio, Congressman Greg Landsman, a distinguished Member of our Congress.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee, Mr. Steve Cohen, who is such a phenomenal leader in the law and on almost every subject we deal with here.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas, Ms. Sheila Jackson Lee, who has been at almost every meeting we have held on Ukraine and then we will yield to Congressman Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, a leader on both sides of the aisle.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1160, I call up the bill (H.R. 8034) making emergency supplemental appropriations to respond to the situation in Israel and for related expenses for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer H.R. 8034, the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024.

This bill provides $26.38 billion to fortify America's support of Israeli allies and defend our troops in the region.

It is part of a larger package of three security supplemental appropriations acts before us for Israel, Ukraine, and the Indo- Pacific. All three are essential to deter our adversaries.

There are moments when our actions are optional, a convenience but not a necessity, a choice. This is not one of those moments.

The world is in chaos. Americans have been killed, and our allies and partners are dying on the front lines every day.

Ukraine is entering its third year of a war to repel Russia's invasion while forced to conserve their munitions and choose which areas to defend. Israel is avenging its innocent civilians who were murdered, raped, brutalized, and taken hostage by Hamas while defending its country from a barrage of Iranian missiles. Indo-Pacific nations face China daily with strength and resolve, knowing they are likely next.

The United States is not on the sidelines in these conflicts. Our servicemembers are under daily attack in the Red Sea, standing watch along NATO's eastern flank and being routinely challenged in the Indo- Pacific. Mr. Speaker, five American flag-draped coffins have returned home in the past 6 months.

When we go to war, we go to war with what we have. There is no time to forge new alliances, no ability to reconstruct abandoned production lines, and no hidden reserve of fully trained and ready troops.

This is the situation our allies and partners in Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and other Indo-Pacific nations face today. It is a situation we ourselves may face sooner than we think.

Xi, Putin, Khamenei, and terrorist leaders will not back down unless met with a strong and resolute America, standing shoulder to shoulder with our constellation of allies and partners. These bills provide the funding necessary to defeat and deter our enemies.

While the bills carry the names of other countries, there is one Nation that I care about above all others. That is ours. These conflicts have exposed the fragility of our defense industrial base and the dire need to invest in factories, shipyards, and assembly lines that manufacture the instruments of our national defense.

In recognition of this fact, over $59 billion across these bills go into our defense industrial base, including $3.3 billion to supercharge our submarine industrial base; $29.5 billion to replenish our stocks of U.S. defense systems and services provided to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan; and $1.13 billion to expand procurement and development of artillery and critical munitions.

Each conflict has its unique needs addressed in these bills, including: $5.2 billion to replenish Israel's Iron Dome and David's Sling and procure Iron Beam missile defense systems; $542 million for unfunded priorities expressly requested by the USINDOPACOM commander; and $13.8 billion directly to procure U.S. capabilities for Ukraine.

Our servicemen and servicewomen across the globe are being tasked to operate at a wartime tempo to track, respond, and engage emerging threats. These bills provide the resources necessary to support their operations with $11.3 billion for current U.S. operations in Europe and $2.4 billion for our forces in the Middle East who are under daily attack.

Mr. Speaker, we have been complacent far too long as our allies and partners and our own servicemembers have been under attack. This Congress has a solemn obligation to our military to provide them with the resources they need to deter and win our Nation's wars.

Douglas MacArthur once said: ``The history of the failure of war can almost be summed up in two words: too late.''

When conflict occurs, we will fight with what we have and who is with us.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on these bills to ensure our military readiness and reinvigorate the American defense industry.

I encourage them to vote ``yes'' to reinforce our Israeli, Ukrainian, Taiwanese, and Indo-Pacific allies and partners.

I encourage them to vote ``yes'' so that future generations may write of what we did here today: They weren't too late.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde), a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Lawler).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Kean).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson).

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, this is a day we are going to act. I urge all my colleagues to support these critical national security bills. They provide the resources necessary to bolster our military, reassure our allies and partners, and commit to stand against tyranny.

The world is waiting, watching, and wanting America to lead. This is our moment.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, which will provide Israel with desperately needed aid to respond to the horrific October 7 attacks and protect itself from Iran and its proxies.

What happened in Israel on October 7 was horrifying. On a recent trip to Israel, I saw firsthand the remnants of the violence that innocent people were subjected to, including the site of the Supernova Sukkot Gathering music festival that Hamas attacked, Kibbutz Be'eri and the homes where so many were massacred, and Hostage Square where I met with families of those taken hostage by Hamas.

The United States has not forgotten October 7. Today, we are providing the aid Israel has needed since the day Hamas terrorists killed innocent Israeli civilians in the worst attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust.

Just last weekend, Israel was openly and directly attacked by Iran. I applaud the role of the United States in providing Israel with support in its defense against that attack.

While we must ensure Israel can stand strong in the face of adversaries like Iran that seek its annihilation, we must also ensure that every step possible is taken to protect innocent life in Gaza and elsewhere.

On my trip, we also went to Khirbet Zanutah, a Palestinian village in the West Bank where settlers destroyed homes and a school. On the trip, we were also briefed from Gaza by humanitarian organizations, including UNRWA, which have lost hundreds of staff to the violence.

To that end, I have called for an immediate cease-fire of at least 6 weeks to facilitate the safe delivery of aid to civilians in Gaza. We must protect aid workers. We must open additional crossings to bring in at least 500 trucks a day and ensure that food is never used as a weapon of war.

Innocent families are in danger, children are starving, and civilian casualties are mounting, not just in Gaza but in conflict zones all around the world. The more than $9 billion in humanitarian support in this bill would make sure that we are not leaving Gazans, the Ukrainians, the Sudanese, the Haitians, or the Rohingya behind.

We must pass this bill and ensure Israel has the resources it needs to defend itself and that much-needed humanitarian aid can flow to millions of vulnerable people around the world.

Mr. Speaker, I urge your support, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lois Frankel), who is a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan), who is a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Manning).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

This bill provides urgently needed humanitarian aid for millions of civilians who have been caught in the crossfire across many theaters, whether it is Ukraine against Russian aggression; Israel in its war against Iran and its proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis; or our Indo-Pacific partners against an adversarial China.

Innocent families are in danger today. Children are starving, and civilian casualties are mounting in conflict zones all around the world. The humanitarian support in this bill would make sure that we are not leaving these people behind.

It is, again, so critically important that the United States demonstrate its support for its allies, and its leadership when it comes to humanitarian assistance, wherever it is needed.

We come here to govern. We come here to take our responsibilities seriously, and I believe that the majority of people here do take responsibilities seriously.

Today, we have the ability to help to make a difference. In this piece of legislation, in addition to our support for our ally, Israel, we have the moral responsibility to provide humanitarian assistance. The United States cannot stand by and watch people starve to death and be caught in crossfires without our standing up and saying: ``No.''

I urge my colleagues to vote for this bill. As I said at another meeting this week, the moment has met us. We need to meet that moment

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, once again, President Zelenskyy is in Washington to make the case for the survival of his country and to show the American people and Congress why this war is so important. He shouldn't have to.

As Americans, we have experienced fighting to save democracy and oppose tyranny. That is why we fought the Second World War and why we formed the United Nations and NATO.

Right now, Ukraine is fighting for those principles. We owe it to our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents to help Ukraine defend against Putin's autocratic threat.

We simply cannot stand by while a sovereign democratic country is wiped off the face of the Earth.

Autocratic regimes around the world are watching to see how the U.S. responds to this conflict. So far, we have shown them what a united NATO, coupled with the bravery and determination of the Ukrainian people, can achieve in the face of tyranny. We must now continue to show them that that commitment is unshakeable.

When President Zelenskyy made his first visit to the U.S. last year, he emphasized the impact of this fight and what it will mean for generations to come. He said that the Ukraine struggle will define in what world our children and grandchildren will live. He was right.

This fight for freedom and democracy has never been partisan. Now should be no different.

In these months, we have seen alarming examples of a shift. This week, allies of Viktor Orban met with conservatives to push for an end to U.S. military support for Ukraine. Over the years, we have been warned of the far right's fascination with Orban and the influence he could impose on their policy. Obviously, these warnings were warranted.

Ukraine's fight is our fight. Anyone who tells you otherwise isn't paying attention. I encourage them to imagine a world in which Putin is successful.

Should we fail to aid Ukraine further, we will hand Putin a victory, and he will expand his attacks. I have seen firsthand the devastation he has imposed in places like Bucha, with maternity hospitals in ruins and bodies piled in mass graves following the Russian army's onslaught.

Our aid has contained this bloodshed for now, but Putin has plans far beyond Ukraine. If Putin were allowed to take Ukraine, he would seek to reconstitute the former Soviet Union. He would form a federation with Belarus and Ukraine by installing puppet governments and then target Moldova, the Baltics, Georgia, and others.

Should Russia expand its attack and cross a border into one of these NATO countries, we are bound by Article 5 of the NATO charter to defend them. The aid we have delivered has helped prevent this scenario from unfolding. Rest assured, Putin is patient. He has the time that Ukraine and apparently we lack. Congress has been wasting the time that we should have spent passing a supplemental package.

Congressional dysfunction has reared its ugly head. We have fumbled several opportunities to pass this funding.

There are those who argue that we must choose to support Ukraine or Israel. Now, they argue that we must choose Ukraine or our own border. These are false choices. In the words of NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg: ``We have the capability, the strength, to address different challenges at the same time. We don't have the luxury of choosing only one threat and one challenge.''

The conflict in Israel and the conflict in Ukraine are linked. After October 7, Hamas and Iranian representatives met with Putin in Moscow. Just as Iran is supporting Hamas' attack on Israel, Iran is also assisting Putin in his invasion of Ukraine.

To defeat the terrorist threat in Israel, we must also help Ukraine defend itself from an evil autocrat. When it comes to our border, Congress can and will tackle immigration reform and international aid. In fact, we should be addressing both.

That means passing a clean supplemental and having a separate, broader conversation about our immigration system's needs. Rushed policy reforms are not the answer.

When it comes to Ukraine, we are running out of time. What we do or don't do with Ukraine aid will be one of the most important foreign policy votes we take in our lifetimes. We must do the right thing. The fate of the free world is hanging in the balance.