Congress must not hold hurricane funds hostage for more Ukraine War money

On Aug. 24, 1992, Hurricane Andrew struck the Southern Florida coast with wind gusts reaching up to 177 mph. The storm killed dozens, destroyed thousands of homes, and caused more than $25 billion in property damage.

Two days later, it hit the heart of Cajun country, my hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana, flooding my neighbors’ homes and leaving many without roofs or power. As an 18-year-old Eagle Scout, I helped clear the wreckage.  

So to me, reports that Washington politicians are attempting to use hurricane relief money to mask or leverage funding for the war in Ukraine doesn’t just elicit abstract outrage. It’s personal.

The White House has asked Congress for a supplemental funding bill that adds money to FEMA’s depleted Disaster Relief Fund (DRF). The request will also include billions in new funding for military aid to Ukraine in its battle against Russia. The intent of the request is to put Republican politicians into a corner, forcing them to choose between their support for hurricane victims and their opposition to sending additional taxpayer money to Ukraine. 

Of course, irresponsibly forcing bloated “must-pass” bills through Congress to fund an expensive, far-off war effort lacking in accountability or oversight is nothing new for the D.C. establishment. But this latest effort doesn’t merely break standard procedure in the House and Senate, it also betrays the very definition of what it means to be a representative of the people. 

This proposal isn’t about whether or how America should continue to support Ukraine. It’s about whether our political representatives are going to hold hostage funds reserved for Americans in order to spend more money in Ukraine. That’s just plain wrong.

Anyone in Congress who thinks differently needs to spend a little less time in the Washington swamp and a little more time in the swamps where I grew up. 

All this raises the question: Why are members of Congress going to such great lengths to send more and more money to Ukraine without the demonstrated support of the American people?

Maybe it is because they’re under the illusion that our European allies can’t do more. Maybe it is because they believe that standing up to Russia is deterring China from attacking Taiwan, even though better deterrence would be to support Taiwan directly. Or maybe it is because they’ve just spent so much time inside the Beltway that they’ve forgotten how best to serve their constituents. 

My guess is that they know most Americans are fed up with the war and they’d rather try backdoor tricks like this than make a full-throated case to the voters for supporting Ukraine.  

The case for supporting Ukraine is weaker than ever. Kyiv’s recent drone strikes on Moscow make it clear to everyone that either Ukraine is not listening to our wishes, or we are no longer merely helping Ukraine “defend its sovereignty,” as Biden promised earlier this year when he said that U.S. support was “not an offensive threat.” Either way Ukraine is bringing the conflict to the Russian mainland which, if former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s recent warnings are to be believed, could escalate into nuclear war.  

Even so, without a plan to bring the conflict to a close or the courage to tell Zelensky that enough is enough, Biden and Congress insist that we send unspecified amounts of money to the Ukrainian war effort for “as long as it takes.”

Adding insult to injury, our representatives won’t even ensure that baseline accountability and oversight measures are attached to the aid so that the weapons, ammunition, and equipment bought with our taxpayer dollars stop going to criminal groups, as a newly declassified Pentagon report has revealed. 

And now we have this last gimmick with FEMA funds, which is an insult to all Americans who will be vulnerable to hurricanes in coming months.

It’s time to turn off the tap. People are tired of Washington’s shady backroom deals cut with their money. Until Biden presents a direct and immediate path to end the conflict in Ukraine, and Congress comes up with a way to ensure that our aid is responsibly distributed, the Heritage Foundation will stand firm and demand that not another cent is spent fighting this war.  

Thirteen years after Hurricane Andrew, two more powerful hurricanes — Katrina and Rita — ravaged the Louisiana coast, killing hundreds and forever changing the lives of millions of Americans. In the aftermath, my family and I decided to return home to Lafayette to found John Paul the Great Academy and help rebuild the state.  

And we aren’t alone. Louisianans and citizens nationwide respond to devastating crises every year with resilience and faith, while expecting the government to also respond with relief provided by their own taxes.

Instead of exploiting their dire need to force through even more aid to Ukraine, lawmakers should stop and consider whether that money might not be better spent on the hardworking Americans they represent.  

Kevin Roberts is president of the Heritage Foundation.