This essential security and humanitarian aid package will provide critical security funding for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and the Southern Border

Washington, D.C. –– Today, New Democrat Coalition (NDC) Chair Annie Kuster (NH-02), Vice Chair for Communications Brad Schneider (IL-10) and Vice Chair for Policy Derek Kilmer (WA-06) led a total of 76 New Dems on a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell strongly urging them to schedule a vote on President Biden’s supplemental request for security and humanitarian aid in support of Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, as well as humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza and funding to help address the crisis along our southern border. 

New Democrat Coalition Leadership previously endorsed this $106 billion supplemental request from the Biden administration. The request will provide approximately $60 billion in funding to support Ukraine, $14 billion to support Israel, and $10 billion in humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, and elsewhere. The request also includes $7 billion to reinforce our Indo-Pacific allies like Taiwan and $14 billion to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, stem the flow of illicit fentanyl, and streamline immigration processes.

Chair Kuster and Vice Chairs Schneider and Kilmer released the following statement on the letter: 

“The United States cannot afford to sit on the sidelines as our allies around the world face existential crises. The action this Congress takes—or fails to take—will have great implications for decades to come. It is in the moral and strategic interest of the United States to support our allies as they fight totalitarianism and terror, defend democracy, and by extension, our own national security. It’s time Speaker Johnson put this legislation on the House floor for a vote.” 

The letter reads in part: 

“Russia’s war against Ukraine is intrinsically linked to Hamas’s war against Israel. Both Putin and Hamas seek to defeat and destroy democracies on their borders. Both intend their invasions as a first step of conquest not the last… Both wars threaten not only our allies’ very survival, but the United States’ vital interests as well. We must make sure that Ukraine can win this war and restore its independence and sovereignty over its territory. We must make sure that Israel defeats Hamas and rescues its captives held in Gaza.”

You can read the full letter here and below: 

Dear Speaker Johnson, Majority Leader Schumer, Democratic Leader Jeffries, and Minority Leader McConnell:

We, as Members of the New Democrat Coalition, write to ask you to urgently bring to the House and Senate floor legislation that fully funds President Biden’s request for security and humanitarian aid in support of Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, as well as funding to help address the crisis at our southern border.

We are facing unprecedented global conflicts and extraordinary geopolitical challenges not seen since World War II. Back then, in the face of tyranny and oppression, the United States rose to the occasion and defended our nation and the free world. The “Greatest Generation” fought and died in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Pacific, and their heroic sacrifice gifted our generation decades of peace and prosperity.

The world is again looking to America to lead, and thus far we have heeded that call.

Defying initial conventional wisdom that Ukraine would quickly fall to Russia’s imperial ambitions, the United States has led a global coalition to give the Ukrainians the resources to defend their country. And when Hamas initiated a new war against Israel on October 7th, the United States again stepped up—delivering munitions, positioning Naval forces, and mobilizing diplomatic missions across the region—to support our ally Israel and deter our enemies from expanding the war.

Russia’s war against Ukraine is intrinsically linked to Hamas’s war against Israel. Both Putin and Hamas seek to defeat and destroy democracies on their borders. Both intend their invasions as a first step of conquest not the last. And both are supported by Iran. For decades, Iran has funded and armed Hamas, and is now sending drones to Russia for use against Ukraine. (The Treasury Department has been leading efforts to counter Iranian drone deliveries to Russia.) The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Russia’s Wagner Group is planning to facilitate the transfer of missile defense systems from Syria to Hezbollah. The Russian regime has also been supporting Hamas, going so far as to host the organization on October 26 in Moscow to discuss “Zionist crimes supported by the United States and the West.”

Both wars threaten not only our allies’ very survival, but the United States’ vital interests as well. We must make sure that Ukraine can win this war and restore its independence and sovereignty over its territory. We must make sure that Israel defeats Hamas and rescues its captives held in Gaza. Furthermore, as we confront the challenges in Europe and the Middle East, the United States must also vigorously maintain its commitment to our vitally important strategic imperatives in the Indo-Pacific as China continues to pose a threat to Taiwan.

The United States cannot afford to hide from the challenges of the times or the burdens of our responsibilities. As was the case nearly a century ago, how we respond in this moment will have grand implications for generations to come. It will be far less perilous and less costly for the United States, in blood and treasure, to ensure Russia, Hamas and Iran are defeated in their current wars than it will be if we falter, and our adversaries achieve strategic victories against Ukraine, Israel, or Taiwan.

America can and will rise to these challenges. Although the vast majority of the burden will be borne by our allies, Congress must do its part to make sure the citizen soldiers defending Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan have what they need to protect their democracies, and by extension, our national security.

We must also recognize that winning these wars will be in vain if we don’t also prepare now to win the peace. Civilians disproportionately bear the impact and suffering of war. Displaced and affected civilians need and deserve access to safe shelter, clean water, medical care, food, and other essential aid. We must therefore also provide needed humanitarian support to the people affected by these conflicts in Ukraine, Israel, and civilians in Gaza and the West Bank.

Again, we urge you to promptly schedule the House vote for the essential supplemental funding for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, including humanitarian aid, as well as resources for securing our southern border. We are living through a precarious global period, and it is critically important that as it was in generations past, our partisan politics stop at the water’s edge.

Thank you for your consideration. 

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