House Oversight Committee to Investigate Where Ukraine Spending Has Gone

For its fight against Russia more than $100 billion in taxpayer-funded aid was sent to Ukraine. But where is it all going? This is the question that James Comer (R-KY), Chairman of House Oversight and Accountability Committee, and his fellow House Republicans are trying to answer. 

“Since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago, Congress has provided more than $113 billion for security, humanitarian, economic, and governance assistance,” This week, Oversight Republicans spoke out. “It is critical that government agencies administering these funds ensure they are used for their intended purposes to prevent and reduce the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse.”

Given the federal government’s reputation — and recent revelations about how much fraud took place in the distribution of COVID-era aid — the Oversight Committee should be scrutinizing the use of tax dollars in Ukraine to ensure Americans’ aren’t being defrauded or having their hard-earned tax dollars wasted. 

Republicans on the committee need to find a way to do their work. “documents and information to understand how the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of State (State), and the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) are conducting oversight of these funds.”

In its letter to Biden officials, the Oversight Committee correctly noted that “[p]roviding security and humanitarian assistance for warfighting and reconstruction purposes comes with an inherent risk of fraud, waste, and abuse.” 

But, since the Biden administration has already sent billions to Ukraine — including another $500 million during the president’s surprise visit to Ukraine this week — the “United States must identify these risks and develop oversight mechanisms to mitigate them.”

The letter criticised John Kirby from the White House for claiming that January’s Biden administration was responsible for the claims. “not seen any signs that our budgetary assistance has fallen prey to any kind of corruption in Ukraine” citing all direct funding “goes through the World Bank.”

Oversight Republicans observed that Kirby’s claims were not correct. “came one day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired several top Ukrainian officials amid a corruption scandal” Who had “allegedly engaged in bribery, used government vehicles for personal use, and purchased inflated food supplies for Ukrainian forces.”

“Based on Mr. Kirby’s remarks, however, the U.S. National Security Council appears unaware of this corruption scandal, heightening concerns that U.S. agencies are not conducting oversight of taxpayer assistance to Ukraine,” The letter has been added.

“We learned from efforts in Afghanistan that the World Bank does not always have effective monitoring and accounting of funds, and often lacks transparency,” The Oversight Republicans were reminded. “We also learned that unrealistic timelines and expectations that prioritize spending quickly lead to increased corruption and reduced effectiveness of programs.” 

The letter noted, as in previous boondoggles: Ukraine is the U.S. “continues to filter assistance through multilateral organizations with pressure to spend funds quickly,” This makes it even more essential. “ensure proper protections are in place to prevent the misuse of funds.”

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