4/20/2024 — U.S. Congressman Don Beyer (D-Falls Church) issued the following statement today:

Dear Constituent,

Today, at long last, the U.S. House of Representatives passed national security legislation to make our country safer and deliver urgently needed funding to Ukraine.

I have long urged my colleagues in both parties to take this action, and am thrilled that it finally happened.

I write as your Representative for Northern Virginia to tell you how I voted on these bills, which are poised for passage in the Senate and the President’s signature.

My remarks during House Floor debate on national security legislation to fund allies including Ukraine here

One bill provided assistance to American allies in the Indo-Pacific region. I spoke on the floor in favor of this bill and strong support to Ukraine; you can see my remarks here, and text of the bill is here.

One bill contained sanctions and a series of extraneous individual standalone national security bills. I voted yes. You can read text of that bill here.

One bill provided funding assistance to Israel. I voted no. You can see my statement on that bill here, and read the bill text here.

One bill provided funding for Ukraine, including military assistance, economic assistance, and humanitarian assistance. I voted yes. You can see my statement on that bill here, and read the bill text here.

This is a major, long-awaited moment, and I am thrilled that Congress at last is doing the right thing and taking action to fund Ukraine.

This should have happened so long ago, and we can only hope that the delay, which I strongly opposed, will not result in lasting damage to Ukraine’s war effort.

The Ukrainian people did not choose this war, it was begun by a bloodthirsty tyrant who has designs that go far beyond Ukraine. If allowed to expand unchecked, Russian aggression would make a deadly global confrontation more likely.

Though some of my colleagues would like to imagine that they can hide from world events, history has shown many times that what happens in Europe and elsewhere in the world affects our national security. Ignoring expansionism is not a strategy to defeat America’s geopolitical foes, it will only empower them.

It is my deepest hope that this victory in Congress, though much delayed, will help to make possible Ukraine’s ultimate victory on the battlefield.

Many of you have written to me about these issues over the past weeks and months, and I have carefully considered your perspectives as I made decisions on these votes.

Thank you for your thoughtful responses, and I hope you have a pleasant weekend.

Best,

Don Beyer