Heritage Action: Biden Coronavirus, Ukraine Aid Request Ignores Americans’ Concerns

Heritage Action said in a statement Wednesday that President Joe Biden’s additional funding request for the coronavirus and Ukraine “ignores the concerns of the American people.’

Heritage Action released its statement after Biden requested Congress provide an additional $13.7 billion in aid to Ukraine, as the previous $40 billion Ukraine aid package is running empty.

Biden reportedly has spent three-quarters of the $40 billion that Congress approved in May.

Biden’s $47 billion funding request would also supply $7.1 billion to procure additional vaccines and more personal protective equipment, and $8 billion would go to next-generation vaccines and therapeutics. The package would also provide $4.5 billion to improve the nation’s fight against monkeypox.

BREAKING: President Biden is asking Congress for $13.7 billion for Ukraine as U.S. aid to the war-torn country is running out. It’s part of a $47.1 billion emergency spending request that includes money for the COVID-19 response and the monkeypox outbreak. https://t.co/1lSyQkFx2K

— The Associated Press (@AP) September 2, 2022

Jessica Anderson, the executive director of Heritage Action, said this funding request ignores the concerns of the American people:

Additionally, President Biden’s main funding requests include even more spending on COVID, new spending on monkeypox, natural disaster funding while the disaster account has more than enough money, and an additional $11.7 billion in new funding for Ukraine, on top of the over $50 billion already provided. These funding requests ignore the concerns of the American people, and President Biden refuses to answer basic questions regarding fiscal responsibility and appropriateness of his funding requests. Further, U.S. support for Ukraine deserves an open and honest debate without liberal congressional leadership using funding for the U.S. government as a vehicle for Washington’s priorities.

Anderson also called on Republican leadership to reject any continuing resolution (CR) that would advance progressive priorities. She said that the funding process should be transparent:

First, conservatives in Congress must unite against any short-term funding proposals which would give outgoing Democratic leadership power to push their progressive priorities whether in the funding debate over the next few weeks or in a lame-duck session of Congress. Their progressive agenda includes Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s efforts to divide conservatives before the November elections by attaching a radical redefinition of marriage that would threaten the religious liberty and tax-exempt status of faith-based schools, adoption agencies, and charities.

Second, conservatives in Congress should push for a transparent funding process in the new Congress. Closed-door negotiations lead to bad policy that does not reflect the will of the American people. Funding the government is one of the most important responsibilities of Congress and must be done by representatives who are accountable to the taxpayers and their values.