Two Senate Republicans introduced legislation that would change the way the Department of Defense tallies the military aid it provides to allies, Ukraine included.
Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and J.D. Vance (R-OH) introduced the legislation on Wednesday in response to the more than $6 billion accounting error in the department’s aid to Ukraine, the Pentagon confirmed last month.
The department had been tallying the equipment provided to Ukraine by using the price of the weapon it is replacing them with instead of the cost of the weapon provided to Ukraine. The difference in the total aid provided using the price of the new replacements and the cost of the weapons given to Ukraine is $6.2 billion. DOD has said the extra funds could be used to fund additional aid to Ukraine
This legislation, however, would clarify that when the Foreign Assistance Act’s presidential drawdown authority (PDA) is used to respond to a crisis, the department must calculate the “aggregate value” of defense articles by using either the original acquisition cost to the United States government plus the cost of improvements or modifications made, or the cost of replacing these articles, whichever is greater.
Biden has utilized his presidential authorization act to provide Ukraine with weapons from current U.S. stockpiles to ensure the faster delivery of weapons than when the U.S. pays defense companies to build the weapons they provide to Ukraine.
“The so-called ‘valuation errors’ around U.S. aid to Ukraine is a transparent attempt to bypass Congress for additional funds, while continuing to prioritize Ukraine over more vital U.S. interests, including deterring China in the Pacific,” Hawley said in a statement. “We must force the DoD to appropriately account for any future aid, not only for Ukraine, but also for all U.S. security assistance going forward.”
Sens. Mike Braun (R-IN), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Roger Marshall (R-KS), wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin demanding answers regarding the accounting mistake.
“While accounting consistency is certainly in the interest of good governance—especially given DOD’s habitual inability to pass a financial audit — this is a transparent attempt to bypass Congress for additional funds, while continuing to prioritize Ukraine over more vital U.S. interests, including deterring China in the Pacific,” the lawmakers wrote. “This is yet another example of why we do not support further appropriations to Ukraine. By using creative accounting to conceal the actual cost of supporting Ukraine, you appear to be circumventing the American people’s elected representatives. Congress, not DOD, possesses the power of the purse.”
The lawmakers asked a series of questions about the department’s intent to replace the weapons provided to Ukraine and how they’re calculating this data and set a deadline of August 10 for a response.
