Members of a Ukrainian Army mortar brigade fire earlier this month.
As some members of his party stall efforts to provide new military aid to Ukraine, GOP Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick last week visited the war-torn country.
Fitzpatrick, a former FBI special agent who was assigned to the country about a decade ago, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and pledged he would "do whatever necessary to pass our bipartisan bill providing urgently needed military aid to Ukraine and protecting democracy in the region.”
The trip came just days before the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has largely stalled and inflicted heavy losses on both sides. With western support, Ukrainian troops have held back the much-larger Russian military.
Fitzpatrick and a small bipartisan group of U.S. House members last week introduced the "Defending Democracies Act,” which aims to bolster U.S. border security and provide defense appropriations for allies Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
The bill was an attempt to break congressional deadlock after House Republicans vowed to block a bipartisan plan introduced in the U.S. Senate, which received support from Democrats and Republicans in that chamber.
"The briefings highlighted the need for additional military aid on the frontlines to protect Ukrainian borders against ruthless dictator, Vladimir Putin,” Fitzpatrick said in a statement.
Fitzpatrick, chairman of the National Intelligence Subcommittee of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, said in an interview with CNN that U.S. aid is needed to resupply Ukrainian forces fighting to maintain and retake their country from Russia’s invasion.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, who just got back from Kyiv, says Ukraine has "weeks, not months” to resupply munitions. Speaker Johnson hasn’t assured him he’ll bring his aid bill to the floor, but he makes clear he’ll force it if necessary. "We will find a way to get this to the floor” pic.twitter.com/qyyWw1UH3s
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) February 23, 2024
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson hasn’t committed to bring the Fitzpatrick-supported aid bill up for a vote when Congress returns from its break thisweek, CNN journalist Kaitlan Collins reported.
"We will find a way to get this to the floor. Mark my words,” Fitzpatrick said on the cable network, adding that residents in the First Congressional District support Ukraine.
After visiting Ukraine, Fitzpatrick then made a stop in Israel and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"While in Israel, I also attended security briefings as part of my role on the Intelligence Committee. These meetings with Israeli defense and intelligence officials provided insights into addressing national security and intelligence-related matters in the region,” Fitzpatrick said.
He added: "Hamas wants to wipe Israel from the face of the earth. Congress has a moral obligation to continue to provide defensive aid to our strongest democratic ally in the Middle East.”
Whether Fitzpatrick’s Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act comes up for a vote remains unknown when Congress returns from a break next week.
The Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act mandates a one-year suspension of entry for inadmissible aliens to secure "operational control” of U.S. border with Mexico. It would allow for the immediate detention and expulsion of such individuals by immigration officials. The proposal includes a one-year implementation of the "Remain in Mexico” policy, with provisions for "humane exceptions” for individuals with disabilities or acute medical conditions. It also earmarks $66.32 billion in defense-only funding for strategic allies.
In a statement Fitzpatrick’s office detailed the defense spending: $47.69 billion to support the defense of Ukraine, including $13.77 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative; $10.40 billion to support the defense of Israel, including $4 billion to procure the Iron Dome and David’s Sling and $1.2 billion to procure the Iron Beam; $4.91 billion to support U.S. and allied deterrence operations in the Indo-Pacific; $2.44 billion to support operations in U.S. Central Command, including to address combat expenditures related to recent conflict in the Red Sea; and $542 million for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command to address critical, unfunded operations.
"The United States must never waver from supporting freedom and democracy throughout the world, period,” Fitzpatrick said.
