Ukraine Support Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, the question before this House is simple: Will we help Ukraine negotiate from a position of strength, or will we help Putin outlast American resolve?
The Ukrainian people, our NATO allies, and the United States national security cannot afford to wait any longer for this body to act against Russia's brutal war in Ukraine.
In the last 17 months, Russia has redoubled its efforts to break the Ukrainian spirit while waging its illegal war, and this body has failed to meet the moment.
Let me be clear: The administration could be doing more right now without waiting for Congress. President Trump promised to end the war on day one. Seventeen months later, this administration has stalled delivery of assistance that Congress has passed.
It has attacked Ukraine, the victim, while providing cover for Putin who continues to stall, delay, and outlast U.S. support.
We all want this war to end. The question is how? Will we abandon Ukraine and force it into a terrible deal? That is what Vladimir Putin is counting on.
Or will this body live up to the commitments we have made since the start of this war, that we will support the brave Ukrainians fighting for their future, deliver them the weapons that they need to defend themselves, impose costs on the Kremlin for this immoral conflict, and hold Russia accountable for its war crimes?
This war ends when Putin concludes that prolonged conflict will cost Russia more than ending it. That means proving through action, not words, that the United States and our allies will not walk away.
That is exactly what this bill aims to do. It supports Ukraine's reconstruction, fights Russian malign influence, shores up security assistance for our Baltic allies, and provides Ukraine urgently needed foreign military finance loans to purchase the weapons it needs to defend itself against and push back Russian aggression.
Let me remind my colleagues. Nearly every dollar we invest in Ukraine's security assistance is spent where? It is spent right here in these United States of America supporting American workers, supporting American manufacturers, and supporting American communities.
Mr. Speaker, this is not one of those conflicts where there is a gray area. Vladimir Putin is an authoritarian thug who ordered the invasion of Ukraine for his own imperialistic ambitions. He has ordered the kidnapping of Ukrainian children and the murder of innocent civilians. And as the United States' support has wavered, the carnage has only grown. Mr. Speaker, 2025 was the deadliest year for Ukrainian civilians since the war began.
In the largest land war since World War II, we have seen over a million casualties that Putin chose. And if you believe his ambitions will end with Ukraine, you have not been paying attention at all.
History and Putin have told us otherwise. Some colleagues have raised parts of this bill that could be improved as justification for voting against it. Mr. Speaker, this bill should have gone through regular order, but unfortunately, my request to move Russia bills through regular order have been routinely rejected.
Republican leadership has opposed this bill and repeatedly blocked bipartisan efforts to hold Russia accountable. The Ukraine Support Act was introduced some 14 months ago, and we have forced it to the floor by discharge only because that was the only option left to us.
Now, before I finish, I just have some people that I really need to thank. For 14 months, our majority leader emeritus Steny Hoyer, he has been absolutely tremendous, working and getting this bill to this point today. He used to be the whip or so. He is no longer the whip, but he hasn't lost those whip skills on how to whip people and get them together. That is what he has done, and I have got to thank him and have to say and know that his commitment to the Ukrainian people and to our allies is unwavering and unshakeable. I thank Steny Hoyer.
Let me also thank Representatives Keating and Kaptur and so many other Democrats who have worked tirelessly and been instrumental in this process. Finally, I must thank Representatives Bacon, Fitzpatrick, and Kiley for courageously signing the discharge petition. This indeed has been a team effort and something that the Ukrainian people know that in a bipartisan way we support them in what we will do.
So, Mr. Speaker, it is time for us to do what is right: Support Ukraine. Hold Russia accountable. Show the world and show Putin that the United States does not fold to bullies. Putin's belief that bipartisan U.S. support will fade is as much a fantasy as he believes that he could take Kyiv in a week.
That is how we end this war, and I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I remind the gentleman that I heard the President of the United States say that Ukraine should give up, basically, because they don't have the cards. He said to Vladimir Putin do what you will. These are words out of the President's office, not mine.
Mr. Speaker, in reference to the bill raised by Chairman Hill, I want the public to know that I fully supported that bill. In fact, I voted for it in committee. I am on the Financial Services Committee also, and the fact that it hasn't hit the floor a year after it was marked up in committee tells you everything that you need to know about Republican leadership's willingness to put bills on the floor that hold Putin accountable. Because if they would put bills on the floor that would hold him accountable, we would not have had to discharge this bill.
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Mr. MEEKS. Kaptur), the co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus.
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Mr. MEEKS. Pelosi), a woman of courage, who has traveled to Ukraine many times and stands for the Ukrainian people, the distinguished Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi.
Mr. Speaker, the camera of history is rolling, and history will show where each Member stands at this time as Ukraine's war rages on. It will show who stood with Ukraine and with democracy and who stood with Vladimir Putin and his evil regime.
Putin believes he can outlast American resolve. I don't believe he can. Today, we have the chance to prove him wrong.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans alike, to stand with the people of Ukraine and pass this bill.
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Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 226, nays 195, not voting 9, as follows: [Roll No. 207] YEAS--226 Adams Aguilar Amo Ansari Auchincloss Bacon Balint Barragan Beatty Bell Bera Beyer Bishop Bonamici Boyle (PA) Bresnahan Brown Brownley Budzinski Bynum Carbajal Carey Carson Carter (LA) Casar Case Casten Castor (FL) Castro (TX) Chu Cisneros Clark (MA) Clarke (NY) Cleaver Clyburn Cohen Conaway Correa Costa Courtney Craig Crockett Crow Cuellar Davids (KS) Davis (IL) Davis (NC) Dean (PA) DeGette DeLauro DelBene Deluzio DeSaulnier Dexter Dingell Doggett Elfreth Escobar Espaillat Evans (PA) Fields Figures Fitzpatrick Fletcher Foster Foushee Frankel, Lois Friedman Frost Garamendi Garbarino Garcia (CA) Garcia (IL) Garcia (TX) Gillen Gimenez Golden (ME) Goldman (NY) Gomez Gonzalez, V. Goodlander Gottheimer Gray Green, Al (TX) Grijalva Harder (CA) Hayes Himes Horsford Houlahan Hoyer Hoyle (OR) Huffman Hurd (CO) Ivey Jackson (IL) Jacobs Jeffries Johnson (GA) Johnson (TX) Joyce (OH) Kamlager-Dove Kaptur Keating Kelly (IL) Kennedy (NY) Khanna Kiggans (VA) Kiley (CA) Krishnamoorthi LaLota Landsman Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Latimer Lawler Lee (NV) Lee (PA) Leger Fernandez Levin Liccardo Lieu Lofgren Lynch Magaziner Mannion Matsui McBath McBride McCaul McClain Delaney McClellan McCollum McDonald Rivet McGarvey McGovern McIver Meeks Mejia Menefee Menendez Meng Mfume Miller (OH) Min Moore (WI) Morelle Morrison Moskowitz Moulton Mrvan Mullin Murphy Nadler Neal Neguse Newhouse Norcross Ocasio-Cortez Olszewski Pallone Panetta Pappas Pelosi Perez Peters Pettersen Pingree Pocan Pou Quigley Ramirez Randall Raskin Riley (NY) Rivas Ross Ruiz Ryan Salinas Sanchez Scanlon Schakowsky Schneider Scholten Schrier Scott (VA) Sewell Sherman Simon Smith (WA) Sorensen Soto Stansbury Stanton Stevens Strickland Subramanyam Suozzi Sykes Takano Thompson (CA) Thompson (PA) Titus Tlaib Tokuda Tonko Torres (CA) Torres (NY) Trahan Tran Turner (OH) Underwood Vargas Vasquez Veasey Velazquez Vindman Walkinshaw Wasserman Schultz Waters Watson Coleman Whitesides Williams (GA) Wilson (FL) Wilson (SC) NAYS--195 Aderholt Alford Allen Amodei (NV) Arrington Babin Baird Balderson Barr Barrett Baumgartner Bean (FL) Begich Bentz Bergman Bice Biggs (AZ) Biggs (SC) Bilirakis Boebert Bost Brecheen Buchanan Burchett Burlison Calvert Cammack Carter (GA) Carter (TX) Ciscomani Cline Cloud Clyde Cole Collins Comer Crane Crank Crawford Crenshaw Davidson De La Cruz DesJarlais Diaz-Balart Donalds Downing Dunn (FL) Edwards Ellzey Emmer Estes Evans (CO) Ezell Fallon Fedorchak Feenstra Fine Finstad Fischbach Fitzgerald Fleischmann Flood Fong Foxx Franklin, Scott Fry Fulcher Fuller Gill (TX) Goldman (TX) Gooden Gosar Graves Griffith Grothman Guest Guthrie Hageman Hamadeh (AZ) Haridopolos Harrigan Harris (MD) Harris (NC) Harshbarger Hern (OK) Higgins (LA) Hill (AR) Hinson Houchin Hudson Huizenga Hunt Issa Jack Jackson (TX) James Johnson (LA) Jordan Joyce (PA) Kelly (MS) Kelly (PA) Kennedy (UT) Kim Knott Kustoff LaHood Langworthy Latta Lee (FL) Letlow Loudermilk Lucas Luna Luttrell Mackenzie Malliotakis Maloy Mann Massie Mast McClain McClintock McCormick McDowell McGuire Messmer Meuser Miller (IL) Miller-Meeks Mills Moolenaar Moore (AL) Moore (NC) Moore (UT) Moore (WV) Moran Nehls Nunn (IA) Obernolte Ogles Omar Onder Owens Palmer Patronis Perry Pfluger Reschenthaler Rogers (AL) Rogers (KY) Rose Rouzer Roy Rulli Rutherford Salazar Scalise Schmidt Schweikert Scott, Austin Self Sessions Shreve Simpson Smith (MO) Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smucker Spartz Stauber Stefanik Steil Steube Strong Stutzman Taylor Tenney Tiffany Timmons Valadao Van Drew Van Duyne Van Epps Van Orden Wagner Walberg Weber (TX) Webster (FL) Westerman Wied Williams (TX) Wittman Womack Yakym Zinke NOT VOTING--9 Jayapal Johnson (SD) Kean Mace Miller (WV) Norman Pressley Thanedar Thompson (MS)
Messrs. WESTERMAN, WITTMAN, MOORE of North Carolina, MEUSER, and SMITH of Nebraska changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
Mr. CLEAVER changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
So the bill was passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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