Press Releases

Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), a senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the President Emeritus of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, released the following statement in opposition to the Republican Israel-only supplemental appropriations bill:

“Once again, Speaker Johnson has cynically put Donald Trump’s MAGA extremist agenda ahead of the American people and our strongest international allies.

“The abandonment of our partners in Ukraine and Taiwan and the absence of humanitarian aid in the midst of a catastrophic collapse in Gaza make this bill impossible to support.

“I support President Biden’s security supplemental package that would deliver urgent aid for our partners in Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, as well as lifesaving humanitarian aid to civilians affected by the conflict in Gaza and facing violence around the world.

“As President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, for the past two years, it was my solemn duty to work with our NATO allies to rally support for Ukraine against Putin’s efforts to stamp out the embers of democratic ambition. Support for Ukraine is support for our shared democratic values, and it would be unconscionable for me to vote today to condemn the prospects for a future Ukraine aid vote in the House. A vote for this stand alone is a vote to doom Ukraine’s fate and that is a proposition I will not accept.

“If Speaker Johnson allowed a floor vote on President Biden’s package, which includes Ukraine aid, it would receive a strong majority of support. Instead, he is caving to the twice-impeached former President.

“Throughout my entire career, I have been a strong advocate for maintaining the bipartisan coalition in support of Israel and its right to self-defense. Republicans should be ashamed of themselves for using Israel’s long- and short-term stability and security as a political pawn. They have intentionally fractured this important bipartisan coalition, and I refuse to play their partisan games when lives are at stake.”