Tonight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will speak to the American people during a joint session of Congress.

From the day Russia attacked Ukraine back in February, thousands of Ukrainian people have died fighting Vladimir Putin’s aggression.  Under the leadership of President Zelenskyy, they fought vigorously to defend their freedom and democracy, and inspired the world with their courage.

While I support their fight to defend their country from Russia’s illegal occupation, accountability is still necessary.  Last year, we saw Kabul fall after billions of American dollars were spent in Afghanistan, resulting in the best-equipped terrorist organization in history.  Unfortunately, that’s become a hallmark of President Biden’s foreign policy: no plan.  We cannot afford a repeat of Afghanistan - we need a clear goal, a plan of execution, and real accountability for every taxpayer dollar spent abroad.

However, that is not what we’ve seen in the past few months, as President Biden and the Democratic Members of Congress approved billions of dollars time after time without a plan.  When I tried to bring up this issue during a committee meeting, my Democratic colleague said that it’s not the time for accountability.

I believe that, as an elected official, my duty is to represent you.  And until I hear precisely how the money will be spent to help Ukrainians win the war and fight off Vladimir Putin, I cannot, in good conscience, vote to send your money abroad.  I will continue to fight for accountability and make sure that there is a plan for every single penny used to defend freedom and democracy on the battlefield in Ukraine.