Dear Colleague on Support for Ukraine

Dear Democratic Colleague,

Tragically, Russia continues its premeditated, unprovoked war against Ukraine: violating its sovereignty and territorial integrity, committing war crimes against civilians and engaging in disinformation about the purpose of their invasion. The United States remains ironclad in our commitment to the Ukrainian people and in unity with our allies.

For that purpose, the Biden Administration has requested $10 billion in humanitarian, military and economic support for Ukraine. The Congress intends to enact this emergency funding this week as part of our omnibus government funding legislation. And an urgent request from President Zelensky is to help ensure air support for the Ukrainian armed forces. As President Biden has made crystal clear, American troops will not go to war in Ukraine — but our nation can provide military equipment and support our allies who are supplying airplanes to Ukraine. We must also help the one and a half million Ukrainian refugees fleeing their homes and escaping to other nations, which the United Nations has said is the "fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II."

In addition, the House is currently exploring strong legislation that will further isolate Russia from the global economy. Our bill would ban the import of Russian oil and energy products into the United States, repeal normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus, and take the first step to deny Russia access to the World Trade Organization. We would also empower the Executive branch to raise tariffs on Russian imports.

Let me be clear: the United States need not choose between our democratic values and our economic interests. The Administration and the Congress remain laser-focused on bringing down the higher energy costs for American families and our partners stemming from Putin's invasion. We salute President Biden for leading our allies in releasing 60 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves – including 30 million from American reserves in the SPR — to stabilize global markets. And in our visit to the Munich Security Conference, we were encouraged by the statements of our allies — especially the European Union — that they will continue to diversify their energy supply and reduce their dependence on Russian energy.

With the West's carefully coordinated effort to sequence sanctions on Russia and mitigate for the costs of these efforts, we are standing up for our values abroad while protecting our families at home. Again, I commend the Biden Administration for its leadership to unify and strengthen our allies in support of the people of Ukraine.

Thank you for your ongoing and committed leadership in defending Democracy.

NANCY