Statement from National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on President Biden’s National Security Supplemental Request

The President’s supplemental request is critical to advancing our national security interests—from delivering aid to Israel and Ukraine, to providing humanitarian assistance to innocent civilians across the globe, to strengthening border security and fighting the flow of fentanyl into the United States. These are bipartisan priorities that deserve bipartisan support. Today’s vote does nothing to change the fact that Congress must take action to address these pressing needs—including by providing urgently-needed funding for Ukraine before the end of this year.
 
There is a broad, bipartisan majority in Congress that supports Ukraine. That was true the day Putin launched this brutal war, and it remains true today. With funds to arm Ukraine nearly exhausted, we now face a defining moment of truth: will the United States continue to stand with Ukraine in its fight for freedom, or will we ignore the lessons of history and let Putin and autocracy prevail?
 
The stakes are too high and the consequences too grave to allow a minority in Congress to hold Ukraine funding hostage over any unrelated issue. The world is watching, and history will judge us. If we walk away and Putin takes Ukraine, he won’t stop there. It’s time for Congress to fund our critical national security priorities. It’s time for Congress to fund Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorists, Ukraine’s right to defend itself against Russian aggression, and the United States to secure our border and stop the flow of fentanyl into the country.