Repealing the Authorizations for Use of Military Force Against Iraq--

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. HAWLEY. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 40 and ask that it be reported by number.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. HAWLEY. Mr. President, this body has spent to date $113 billion on the war in Ukraine and counting. Yet we do not have any direct oversight of any of the money that is being spent.

My amendment is very simple. Let's create 1 government watchdog--not 2, not 3, not 20; 1 government watchdog--to oversee every cent that is spent on Ukraine and to report back to this Congress and to the American people as to how their hard-earned money is being spent.

Currently, there are dozens of reporting requirements. There are multiple bureaucrats who are involved.

Listen, we learned this the hard way in Afghanistan, where, after years of lack of oversight, billions of dollars wasted, and, tragically, many lives lost, this body finally created a special inspector general to oversee the Afghanistan effort and reporting requirements, to report back to the public on what we knew and were learning. That is what we should do in this case.

I urge a ``yes'' vote on this amendment.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. HAWLEY. Mr. President, do I have any time left?

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. HAWLEY. Mr. President, I would just say, in response to my friend's point about there being 60-plus reporting requirements already in place, that is part of the problem. When everybody is in charge, nobody is in charge.

Currently, the oversight requirements are spread across three different Agencies of the inspector general. The State Department, the Defense Department, and USAID each would have a little piece of this-- dozens of disparate requirements.

Let's unify it. We have done this before--one inspector general, one staff, one set of requirements. Make it public. Give the American people the accountability they deserve.

I urge a ``yes'' vote.

Vote on Amendment No. 40

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source