Press Releases

Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), a senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the former President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, released the following statement after the House passed President Biden's security supplemental funding package:

"Today, I was proud to vote for President Biden’s security supplemental funding package which will finally deliver what Ukraine desperately needs to defend its sovereign territory. I will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Ukrainian brothers and sisters, who for 1,151 days have been holding off Vladimir Putin’s depraved and brutal invasion of their homeland. Ukraine represents the front line of the fight between freedom and repression. Between democracy and autocracy. Between those who carry the flame of democratic ambition and those who aim to extinguish it.

"With Republicans in control of the House, this will be our only chance to pass the humanitarian aid that is urgently needed in Gaza. We must seize that opportunity. Republicans not only waited 67 days since the Senate passed the security supplemental to provide aid to Ukraine, they delayed that vital humanitarian assistance. I twice voted against Republican Israel packages because they shamefully excluded any humanitarian aid for Gaza. Earlier this month, I wrote to Speaker Johnson to outline the duty that the United States has to address the world’s greatest unmet humanitarian needs, including the 'heart-wrenching desperation in Gaza.' People are starving. We cannot wait any longer. U.S. foreign assistance matters. The inclusion of $9.2 billion in humanitarian aid in this package will feed millions.

"As co-chair of the Congressional Taiwan and Korea Caucuses, I am also proud to support the Indo-Pacific supplementary funding package that will help our allies defend against an increasingly aggressive China. The United States must supply Taiwan with what it needs to defend itself against attempts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait by force. The Taiwanese people must be given the right of self-determination to decide their own democratic destiny. The U.S.-Korea alliance, forged in blood during the Korean War, must also continue to flourish, and this package will allow our alliance to defend against North Korea’s brutal dictator Kim Jong Un and grow our democratic coalition in the Indo-Pacific.

"Just a week ago, Iran launched 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles at targets in Israel. Israel has a right and responsibility to defend itself, and Israel must have what it needs to do so in the wake of unprecedented attacks from Iran and Iranian-funded terror organizations like Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Hamas. Today’s funding package, however, must not distract us from efforts to bring home the hostages and use every piece of leverage available to us to push for a mutually agreed upon ceasefire and insist that Israel fight Hamas in a way that abides by international law and reflects our shared democratic values. Indiscriminate killing cannot be justified, and President Biden must enforce National Security Memo 20. I call on the President to withhold the transfer of any offensive weapons until there is a robust agreement on humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people and until Israel accepts President Biden’s caution about Prime Minister Netanyahu’s catastrophic plans for Rafah."