- Sputnik International, 1920
Americas
Sputnik brings you all the latest breaking stories, expert analysis and videos from North and South America.

Struggling US Taxpayers Find Their Dollars Are Funding Designer Knitwear Company in Ukraine

© Sputnik / Stringer / Go to the mediabankUS President Joe Biden and Zelensky
US President Joe Biden and Zelensky - Sputnik International, 1920, 26.09.2023
Subscribe
The amount of dollars the US has funneled to Ukraine since the conflict there began has dwarfed help sent by any other donor to the Kiev regime supporting NATO's ongoing proxy war against Russia. However, as lawmakers tussle over spending and a US government shutdown looms, public support for propping up Ukraine is waning.
As the United States continues to pump vast sums to support the Kiev regime, the hard-earned cash of American taxpayers is apparently subsidizing small businesses in Ukraine, such as a designer knitwear company, a US report has claimed.
It's not just weapons for Ukraine - ranked the second-most corrupt country in Europe according to German-registered organization 'Transparency International' - that Washington is wasting billions on. The knitwear company in question is a long way from the frontline, and its owner was quoted as voicing gratitude to the US, more specifically the United States Agency for International Development, for helping her to find customers overseas.

Since the Ukraine conflict escalated in February 2022, the US Congress has approved close to $113Bln in aid to Ukraine, according to the US State Department Office of the Inspector General. That vast sum includes more than $62Bln marked to go through the Pentagon, and more than $46Bln through the Department of State and the US Agency for International Development. In August, President Joe Biden asked Congress to authorize more than $24Bln more in aid for Ukraine, $13Bln of which is for weapons and military-related items.

The report comes as inflation continues to feed into soaring grocery and gas costs for America’s taxpayers, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet. Core inflation in the US, which reflects the change in the costs of goods and services, but omits food and energy prices, is at present at 4.3 percent. An average household now has to spend an extra $734 each month on the same goods and services than it did two years ago, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, cited in a recent report.
However, as far as the Biden administration is concerned, nothing will get in the way of sending more and more assistance to Kiev, despite recent polls showing Americans' concerns about bread-and-butter issues. This obstinate determination is despite growing awareness of Ukraine’s botched counteroffensive, and looming government shutdown over spending battles between lawmakers in Congress.
The Biden administration has been hoping to get its $24 billion Ukraine package through Congress as the US government’s 30 September funding deadline approaches, triggering a face-off between Republicans and Democrats.
However, some of the most vocal Republicans in the House, such as Representatives Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-GA), have been vowing to block any spending bill unless their demands are met, including ditching any supplementary Ukraine funding. In the Senate, Republican lawmakers such as Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Rand Paul (R-KY) have also been vehemently opposed to additional Ukraine aid.
Ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Washington, 29 Republican lawmakers - spearheaded by Senator James David Vance (R-OH) and Representative Chip Roy (R-TX) - penned a letter addressed to Shalanda Young, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, objecting to Biden's request for a further $24Bln for Ukraine.

"In the midst of a historic border crisis and looming government shutdown, the United States is in no position to fund the endless war in Ukraine," one of the letter's signatories, House Small Business Committee Chairman Representative Roger Williams (R-TX), told the media.

Newly-elected Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks to reporters after a contentious battle to lead the GOP majority in the 118th Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. - Sputnik International, 1920, 18.09.2023
Americas
House Republicans Fed Up With Biden's Ukraine Aid Requests
Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала