Last week, the Biden administration announced that it planned to forgive $4.7 billion in U.S. loans to Ukraine in the twilight of Biden’s presidency.
As outlined in a funding bill passed by Congress in April, Biden could forgive half of the bill’s $9.4 billion in economic support to Ukraine after Nov. 15. In total, that bill gathered $61 billion in aid for Ukraine as the nation continues to fight Russia’s ongoing invasion.
“We have taken the step that was outlined in the law to cancel those loans,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller announced at a press briefing last week. The move comes as Biden looks to rush as much aid to Ukraine as possible before he leaves office in January, fearing that President-elect Donald Trump will limit U.S. support once he is inaugurated.
However, Congress still has the opportunity to block Biden’s debt cancellation, and following the president’s announcement, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY, introduced a joint resolution of disapproval to do just that. Paul forced a vote in the Senate on his resolution.
“Americans all across the United States are grappling with high prices and their own debt thanks to four years of the Biden-Harris Administration, all while the U.S. national debt has hit a record $36 trillion, and we cannot afford a $4.65 billion dollar gift to Ukraine,” Paul said ahead of the vote. “Senators who vote against my resolution today will be sending a message to all Americans that they clearly prioritize Ukraine over the people they represent and are for putting America last.”
Although the motion was ultimately rejected, 37 senators voted in favor of the resolution, including Alabama’s Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville.
In a subsequent press release, Britt explained why she supported Sen. Paul’s resolution and opposed forgiving Ukraine’s debt.
“President Biden’s irresponsible, lame-duck scheme to redistribute Ukraine’s debt onto hardworking Americans continues the America Last failures of this administration. Ukraine borrowed it, they should pay it back in cash or mineral rights—no matter how long it takes,” Britt said. “With the U.S. national debt surpassing $36 trillion, the last thing American taxpayers deserve is having foreign debt dumped on them by the unilateral decree of an outgoing President with basement-low approval numbers.”
“I was proud to join Senator Rand Paul in standing up for American families and fighting back against this latest Biden boondoggle,” Britt continued. “I’ll continue working to restore fiscal sanity to Washington, D.C., and I look forward to President Trump retaking the White House with a peace-through-strength doctrine that will once again prioritize Americans first.”
Britt has previously voted in favor of limiting U.S. aid to Ukraine “until all member countries of NATO spend at least two percent of their GDP on defense” and establishing oversight roles to audit and investigate U.S.-appropriated funding for Ukraine.
