Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) sharply criticized House Republicans on Thursday during a debate on foreign aid, accusing them of obstructing the swift delivery of aid to Ukraine.
Speaking before the House Rules Committee, DeLauro recalled previous discussions with GOP members about increasing aid to Ukraine alongside bipartisan border security measures. “We accomplished bipartisan border security,” she stated, referring to a Senate bill that tied aid to stricter border restrictions. “And you know what? It was Donald Trump who said: Don’t. Give. Biden. A Win.”
As the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, DeLauro passionately urged her Republican colleagues to fulfill their responsibilities. “We have the opportunity to do what we do here, and that is to govern,” she exclaimed, raising her voice. “And for months and months we have been diddling around while people are dying in Ukraine! Don’t talk about what weapons we want to give them. We’re not giving them what they need now, and it has been months in the coming!”
DeLauro emphasized the missed opportunity to expedite aid delivery by bringing the Senate bill to the House floor for a vote. “We should have picked up that Senate bill, brought it to the floor, and voted on it immediately and we would be out of here today and doing it, let us not rewrite what is happening,” she asserted. “It is on us, when we had that moment, we said no.”
After the caucus, DeLauro told reporters that if the new aid bill failed, it would not be due to Democrats.
Meanwhile, House Republicans unveiled three separate aid bills on Wednesday for Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine respectively. The proposed legislation allocates $60.8 billion in aid to Ukraine. House Speaker Mike Johnson aims to bring these bills to a vote as soon as Saturday after allowing lawmakers three days to review them. President Biden has expressed readiness to sign the aid bills into law.
In a statement, DeLauro emphasized the importance of passing these aid bills. “We cannot retreat from the world stage under the guise of putting ‘America First,’” she said.
