US Congresswoman Greene Says Preparing to Move Forward With Ukraine Aid Audit
FILE – Ukrainian servicemen prepare to fire at Russian positions from a U.S.-supplied M777 howitzer in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, July 14, 2022
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene said on Friday that she and other House Republican lawmakers are preparing to move forward with an audit of US aid to Ukraine, an idea first proposed late last year before the House Republican majority took effect.
"We don’t even have committees filled yet but [Congressman Michael McCaul] and I are already preparing to move forward with the audit of Ukraine. No more blank checks to Ukraine," Greene said via Twitter.
House Republicans are committed to transparency for US taxpayers, Greene added. In November, Greene and several other House Republicans introduced a resolution to initiate an audit of funds appropriated by Congress to Ukraine. The measure failed during the “lame duck” session of the 117th Congress, but Greene vowed to reintroduce the idea in the new 118th Congress. House Republicans now hold a majority in the lower chamber, with Speaker Kevin McCarthy having started the party’s mantra of ending “blank checks” from the US to Ukraine. McCarthy also backed the initial Ukraine aid audit proposal. On Thursday, Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder said that the Defense Department is responsive to oversight by Congress, adding that he looks forward to further bipartisan support for Ukraine. 
Opinion & Analysis’Their Blood, Our Bullets’: How US Training of Ukrainians Exposes Washington’s Grim Global Strategy17:03 GMTHowever, defense budget cuts proposed by the new House Republican majority could force hard questions about funding for foreign operations related to Ukraine and NATO, former Pentagon analyst and retired US Air Force Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski told Sputnik. Greene has also called for Ukraine to begin negotiations toward a peaceful resolution of the conflict, characterizing it as a “proxy war” between the United States and Russia.
