As a member of Congress, I’ve constantly been told that if we don’t authorize more money, then Ukraine will run out of bullets, the country will fall to Russia, and Moldova and Poland will promptly follow.
After two years of such claims, I’ve realized that Europe has all the money it needs to ensure Ukraine’s survival if only they open up their wallets to the extent they expect the United States to do so.
In comparison, the 27 nations making up the European Union have made $101 billion available for Ukraine. Even that figure is misleading, however.
Making money available to Ukraine and actually sending it there are two very different things.
Take the $54 billion commitment the EU pledged to Ukraine in February. That money will be spread out between now and 2027. That $54 billion equals $667 million per year per EU country. This is 100 times less than the $60 billion direct injection of aid the House just approved for Ukraine.
While there’s no doubt that some countries in Europe are sending more aid than others, there is also a numbers game being played.
Last year, Germany provided Ukraine with 10 obsolete Leopard 1A5 tanks that were more than 20 years old. As the cost to repair the tanks was greater than their utility, Ukraine returned them to Germany. These tanks still counted toward the total aid Germany gave to Ukraine, however.
It’s not that Europe doesn’t have money, it is that they are just not choosing to spend it on Ukraine.
Europe is asking the United States to foot the bill for the war in Ukraine so it can continue funding its extravagant welfare states and climate change boondoggles, while U.S. veterans struggle to get the care they earned and deserve.
The U.S. government, meanwhile, has already spent $113 billion on Ukraine and is cutting a check for $60 billion more.
We know our money will not be spread out over several years like sand falling through an hourglass. Instead, our hard-earned tax dollars will drop immediately like dirt in the back of a dump truck.
We also know that in six months, Ukraine and the other nations of Europe will be right back here in Washington begging us to approve more money. I’m sure they’ll be using the same argument that the sky is falling over Ukraine.
But if the sky is falling, then the United States should see Europe inject more money into Ukraine immediately rather than over three years. We should see Europe scrap the electric buses and instead deliver tanks that can be used on the ground in Ukraine.