where you can watch the latest videos on demand and follow tweets from journalist on the ground. go to c-span.org/ukraine. ? fashion -- ♪ announcer: c-span is your unfiltered view of government. funded by these television companies and more, including charter communications. >> broadband is a source of empowerment. that's why charter has invested billions, building infrastructure, upgrading technology, empowering opportunity in communities big and small. charter is connecting us. announcer: charter communications supports c-span as a public service, along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. ♪ announcer: the house today passed a bill expanding president biden's authority to help arm ukraine and its war against russian aggression. this debate runs just over one hour.

the gentleman is recognized. . today i rise in support of s. 3522, the ukraine democracy defense lend-lease act of 2022. madam speaker, when russia launched its we newed war against ukraine, it thought ukraine would fall in a matter of days. putin and russia thought the rest -- the west would be divided, unable to offer ukraine the support that it needed. they thought the world would believe their russian lies. they thought we would never stay together. well, madam speaker, on all accounts putin has been proven

wrong. two months ago, the people of ukraine united in their defense of their home, and i visited ukraine at that time before the invasion, and they said, we will fight. we will defend our democracy in our country. and then what happened? president biden kept all 30 nations of nato together, joining with and bringing on other allies and other democracies from around the world, all united like never before. and we have jointly imposed devastating sanctions on russia, provided ukraine with billions

of dollars of security, humanitarian, and economic assistance. and we have demonstrated to putin and to the russian government that their actions have left them isolated. and at the time, our goal was clear. help ukraine do what we heard the people ask us to do, defend themselves. but it is now abundantly clear that we must adjust our assumptions and our strategies and that we must help ukraine, as secretary austin said, when. i strongly support the efforts of the administration, in coordination and in close cooperation with congress, to provide as much assistance as they can we can to help -- as

we can to help ukraine protect itself. we must look to see what ukraine needs to fend off the russian offensive in the east and ultimately win this war, to retake territory, to liberate their towns and cities from russian occupation and ongoing russian war crimes and to maintain and regain their sovereignty and territorial integrity. this bill is a further step in that direction of thinking toward the long term. it can and must be part of a strategy to not only providing ukraine with the weapon systems its soldiers are well trained to use, including russian tanks and planes, the united states and nato anti-air and anti-tank missile systems and drones, but also to step up our training efforts through additional training. we will be able to provide more

and more advanced equipment. the administration already has the authority to lend and least equipment to allies and partners to support the united states national security interests. and it has already -- it has already been using all of the funds that congress has given it previously. this bill would allow the administration to cut through red tape and existing lend-lease authorities to facilitate another channel by which all of this vital support can be provided. specifically, this bill streamlines the processes to facilitate the administration's provisioning of lent or lease defense articles to ukraine or eastern european countries impacted by russia's invasion for fiscal years 2022 and fiscal year 2023. it does so by exempting the administration from provisions of law that limit the duration

of loan equipment to five years only as well as exempting such loan and lease equipment from repayment of costs incurred by doing so. in short, it does not create a new program, as lend-lease authorities already enshrined in law, but gives the administration added flexibility in using an existing program to get vital support to ukraine. i strongly support this bill, and i urge all of my colleagues to show the same unity that our allies have shown as we fight off this vicious invasion by putin and russia and ukraine, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from south carolina is recognized. mr. wilson: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. wilson: i rise in support of s. 3522, the ukraine democracy

defense lend-lease act of 2022. madam speaker, it's absolutely amazing, the unintended consequence of vladimir putin, war criminal putin, that he's brought democrats and republicans together. he's united the people of the united states and with the leadership of chairman greg meeks, it's such a -- and the ranking member, mike mccaul, americans are united in their support of the people of ukraine. for 63 days, the courageous people of ukraine have resisted full-scale invasion by war criminal putin with his murderous occupying forces in large part due to the courageous leadership of president volodymyr zelenskyy. ukraine has seen the lives of their loved ones senselessly murdered. the world has been a witness to the countless atrocities inflicted upon the ukrainian people, and we continue to see the depravity of the putin

forces in real time, targeting civilians and humanitarian infrastructure with mass murder just as they conducted gruesomely in aleppo, syria. ukraine's request is simple -- provide the weapons needed to defend the ukrainian homeland and ukrainian families. the bill does just that, by removing bureaucratic red tape to support a loan or lease defense articles to ukraine immediately. i'm grateful to have introduced the house bipartisan version of the ukraine democracy defense lend-lease act of 2022 and to work with our colleagues to bring this legislation to the floor today. time is of the essence. every day that goes by means more innocent lives lost. congress has been united in support of ukraine. and we have given the capacity of the administration to use under presidential drawdown authorities specifically for ukraine. today, with the passage of the

bill, we remain unified in our solidarity with the people of ukraine. there is successful historical precedent for lend-lease. during world war ii, lend-lease was enacted to provide weapons to great britain, the soviet union, and 28 other allies to defeat nazi germany. lend-lease provided -- was integral in the outcome of the siege of linen grad on may 8, 2005, i led a co-del to st. petersburg where we sadly were there to at the world's largest open cemetery to provide a wreath to recognize the appreciation of the people of the united states for the people of russia. this is the final resting place of 420,000 civilians and 50,000 soldiers who died when hitler's murderous forces invaded. america saved what is now st. petersburg, which is the birthplace of putin.

it is ironic in history that america now is considering this critical legislation to help ukrainians avoid further loss of life at the hand of putin's murderous forces. ukraine's battle for its sovereignty is in the forefront of the fight between yoautocrac rule of gun, versus democracy, rule of law. their success is the success of democracy. i urge my colleagues to support passage of the bill and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. meeks: now, madam speaker, it's my honor to yield one minute to the distinguished majority leader of this body. the speaker pro tempore: the majority leader is recognized. mr. meeks: mr. steny hoyer. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman from new york, mr. meeks, the chairman of the committee, for yielding. i thank him for his leadership in bringing this bill to the floor quickly and effectively. i thank mr. wilson, who represents the minority, and

also mr. mccaul, who is the ranking member of the committee, for bringing this. i think mrs. spartz for bringing this attention to all of us with her personal -- her love for her native country. madam speaker, in 1940, after the battle of france had ended, the battle of britain was beginning, winston churchill stood before the house of commons and declared that the united kingdom would fight, would fight on, if necessary, for years. if necessary, alone. britain would fight by itself for some time, but it was not alone. even though america was not at war, we made a strategic and moral determination that we must help britain defend itself against fascism. to do that, we set up the lend-lease program, which cut

through red tape and enabled critical american military aid to reach our allies quickly so they could win the battle of britain. hold back the forces of fascism. and begin a counteroffensive in north africa. lend-lease established america as what president franklin roosevelt called the arsenal of democracy. today, the battle for democracy is taking place in another european nation -- ukraine. the ukrainian people are the ones engaged in combat directly. they are at the point of the spear. they are the ones experiencing death and destruction and displacement. they are directly in line of the russian troops to repel vladimir putin's criminal and unprovoked invasion. an act that recalls the infamous

attack on pearl harbor on december 7, 1941. unprovoked. unjustified. unacceptable. but they are not alone in this fight. already the biden-harris administration and our allies have sent billions of dollars worth of lethal military aid to help ukraine defend itself against putin's unlawful and immoral aggression. i heard the words of my friend from south carolina said that putin has brought us together, has unified us, unified us as a nato alliance, unified us as a european union and the united states of america, unified us as a congress. that this shall not stand. already, the biden harris administration and our allies have sent billions of lethal military aid to help ukraine defend itself against putin's

unlawful and immoral aggression. putin, of course, meant the battle for kyiv to be short lived. to last days and see ukraine's democratic government overthrown and a grizzling regime installed. the battle of kyiv, however, was won by the forces of freedom, thanks to the extraordinary heroism and courage of kyiv's defenders. and the anti-tank weapons and other equipment supplied by america and its nato allies. they are not alone. now, with war raging in ukraine's east, we are rapidly sending additional arms to the ukrainians that will help them hold the line against russian forces and engage in the kind of counteroffensive that will defeat russia's invasion. how extraordinarily ironic it is that putin urges us not to escalate the war.

as putin escalates it hourly. unjustifiably. criminally. despicably. every negative adjective you can find applies to the unwarranted, unprovoked, and unacceptable aggression russia has made on its neighbors. as i told the danish foreign policy when i was visiting with our allies earlier this month, this must end in a strategic defeat for putin and global criminality. anything less would send a dangerous signal to other dictators around the world that wars of aggression could yield net gains. that must not happen. america and our allies must ensure that the only thing putin gains from the invasion of ukraine is a hard lesson learned

through bitter defeat and loss. . let there be no mistake, that is the only outcome we can expect. the bill is a bipartisan expression of the house's support for ukraine and the continued provision of the lethal arms it requires to defend its freedom, its sovereignty and its people. i want to thank, as i said earlier, chairman gregory meeks and ranking member michael mccaul and members of the staff of the foreign affairs committee, for their work on this bill. the senate passed this legislation unanimously earlier this month. i urge my colleagues, this is not a partisan issue. this is about freedom. this is about democracy. this is about morality.

this should not be an issue that is at all dividing the 435 of us who have the honor to serve in this body. once the legislation is enacted, the biden-harris administration will have another tool to ensure that military aid reaches ukraine quickly and efficiently, so it can be deployed to the front lines and defend democracy. we owe freedom nothing less than that. the white house has already requested additional funding for military and humanitarian aid and the house will stand ready to take action once there is agreement on the path forward. i tell the chairman of the committee and i tell, mr. smith of the defense committee, as soon as that is ready to move, i will move it as soon as it is possible. the white house has urgently

requested the resources that ukraine needs. can we do any less than that? in the meantime, i urge all of my colleagues to support this bill, as i said, unanimously. let us show vladimir putin, let us show the dictators and ought cats of the world and let us show what happens when democracy is attacked. hitler thought when he duke over and the free world did little and he could go to poland and russia and africa and france and go someplace else. the free world, led by america, must make it very clear that it will not stand, that america will be part of extraordinary alliance of free nations, moral

nations, who believe in law, not might makes right. i urge my colleagues to unanimously and decisively approve this legislation. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from south carolina is recognized. mr. wilson: i yield four minutes to the gentlelady from indiana. >> thank you, i rise in support of the ukraine democracy lend lease act. the bureaucracy is an enemy in a crisis and streamlining processes and this is extremely important. i just recently went to ukraine twice and i want to share with you the brutality of this war, the atrocities that has happened to the civilian population.

mrs.spartz: it is very disturbing but the resiliency of the ukranian people is inspiring to me as an american. i talked to one of the american reporter journalists and he said i have been reporting here for a while and ukranians don't realize how much they are like americans and i talked to one ukranian and said, we will become brothers and sisters and this is different people. i look at them. and they are barbaric. so i think it is very important for us to make sure that we support ukranian people in this fight for freedom to bring

stability and fight and defend this fight for freedom and defend europe and all of us from further escalation from this conflict. and it is to have oversight and make sure that these processes do work. and i truly believe this collaboration of our great united states of america and our great american people and also in collaboration with the resiliency of the ukranian people will bring victory and peace back. i urge all of my colleagues to support this bill. and i want to thank the bipartisan collaboration on these issues and support of this congress and of this body and it's very important for us to stand together because this a national security issue that we need to resolve. and i truly believe, our country, the greatest country in the world is an inspiration for a lot of people and we are going

to defeat the enemies of freedom and democracies around the world. i urge support of this bill and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. meeks: let me thank representative spartz and she traveled with us in poland and it was her grandparents who are in their 90's on easter sunday and just standing with the ukranian people. and i want to thank the gentlelady for her support, standing up for justice and i thank you personally. i now yield two minutes to the representative from the great state of texas, my friend and leader, al green. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. green: and still i rise and i thank mr. meeks for what he

has done to bring this legislation to fruition as well as mr.~wilson. i rise and i stand where i stand because we should all stand together. i stand here because we are in a war for the world and ukraine is the front line of democracy in this war. we cannot allow a ruthless, reckless, careless dictator to dictate the terms of engagement. the terms of engagement for us will have to be set by us. our president has said no boots on the ground, and i agree. but that doesn't mean we can't have planes in the air, that ukranians will pilot. that doesn't mean we can't have tanks on the ground with the ukranians managing them. doesn't mean that you can't have

torpedoes in the water, that ukranians are going to fire. it simply means this. we have no choice. if we allow this to happen, what happens when some other dictator decides he is going to threaten? i believe that this legislation is a continuation of what president biden has said he will do. no boots on the ground. we provide the armaments and we engage for the war of the world. we must be victorious in this battle. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from south carolina is recognized. mr. wilson: i yield four minutes totality the gentleman from arkansas, congressman french

hill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hill: i thank my friend from south carolina for his leadership on this effort. and i have to thank my good friend, chairman of the foreign affairs committee, greg meeks, for his immense work for trying to get this done and done in the right way. i rise in support of the this bill. and we have to thank two essential people for this concept. winston churchill thought up the idea of lend lease. he talked to his essential partner in the very rm partner, f.d.r. into this concept. roosevelt sold it to the congress, and it is a real moment in history that we are back on this house floor supporting lend lease that armed britain in the face of the blitz by the nazis and we find ourselves in a very similar situation with putin bombing and

shelling the peaceful villages and cities of ukraine. the ukranian people bravely defending their own sovereign land in the face of evil. when i was in romania, they described the ukranian people fight with lion's hearts. this bill will expedite the resources to defend themselves against russia's brutal war in ukraine. in every single meeting with our friends, par men tarrian, citizens, our own colleagues, the answer, they appreciate the american response and response of every other nations, they need weapons. it could come down to days, weeks, if not hours. there have been too many delays already in getting ukraine the

military equipment they need. i'm pleased to see we are enacting this churr chilean idea. born in world war ii that will set the foundation for victory in this war and get the weapons to the brave ukranians fighting for their own independence and freedom. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i thank the colleagues who worked on this. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time the gentleman from new york. mr. meeks: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from new jersey. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. pascrell: mr. meeks and mr.~wilson, thank you. the lord works in strange ways. you get older, you can list the ways. the country is closer together

in a most weird way. through a common objective. we speak of unity more of division eight months ago. russia is bombing hospitals. more crimes russia soldiers are violating women and murdering children. russia is seeking the total destruction of ukraine. against all odds, ukraine and the ukranian people have pushed back. russia and putin are losing. but this war will not end soon. putin is deranged and humiliated. the violence will only intensify. it is the response to support

the ukranian people. america enacted the lend lease act to ep keep democracy alive. we channel the same spirit. 1940, f.d.r. had america's democracy and with it, we preserve freedom. with our action we reawaken that arsenal of democracy. we are witnessing democracy versus darkness. our district has the largest ukranian populations in america. the brave ukranian people have undaunted courage and must know that america stands with them, no matter what. god bless ukraine and god bless the united states of america and the lord does work in strange

ways. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: gast reserves. the gentleman from south carolina is recognized. mr. wilson: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. meeks: now my pleasure to yield three minutes to the representative from the great state of texas, dynamic congress member, sheila jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized. ms. jackson lee: i thank the chairman of the foreign affairs committee and to the manager, mr.~wilson, who i have traveled with as well and i know his heart, to rise and support the legislation that will provide the president with the authority, s.3522, the authority

to lend and lease defense articles to be able to help in the fight. as i do that, realizing what we're standing for. i raise my button that says, we stand with ukraine. the very nation that is standing in the gap and fighting for the preservation of democracy around the world. against the tyranny of autocracy and a one man band and a one man war. we have all heard of the atrocities that this violent dictator has chosen to wage against the innocent people of ukraine, a country that wants nothing more than to love, to live, and to live under a democratic regime. but let me tell you the story of what they face every day.

mariupol and people who are there under siege, not knowing whether or not both the soldiers, the injured soldiers, and civilians and children will ever come out alive. or the mother who held her 3-month-old baby with her family members in her own apartment seeking refuge and bombed by the russians. or the little girl, 16 years old, was told to take off her clothes, to be raped by a russia soldier and to be raped again and again. for the children who sit amongst the bodies of their parents, for the children who themselves were killed in mariupol and around the nation, for those who lost loved ones, who are fleeing through universal humanitarian routes that are known in every war. as a remember, as the united

states congress, going to the bosnian war, iraq, afghanistan, i don't think i saw the direct and deliberate attack on civilians as vladimir putin's war has done. and so this is a crucial moment in our history. we have our responsibilities to america. we have the responsibilities of securing the southern border. and i just spent hours in the judiciary committee with my friends on the other side of the aisle -- when my friends on the other side of the aisle decided to take up one issue, the attack about article 42, on this floor just a few hours ago. there was a constant rampant voice of article 42 regarding southern border when we were discussing this bill under the rule. i want the american people to know that talk is cheap, and what we should be doing now is realizing that this is serious business. we must pass this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. ms. jackson lee: to stop this dastardly --

mr. meeks: i yield another minute to the gentlelady. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. jackson lee: the gentleman is extremely kind for the passion that i have. we must pass this legislation to deal with not only lend and lease on defense articles but to be able to provide the necessary humanitarian relief as well. i want to conclude my remarks by saying that the children have to be prioritized. when i was in ukraine on the border and visiting a reception center, i saw the faces of children, unaccompanied children should be registered, children with parents should be registered. and unicef said we should eliminate the death they face, to prioritize and make sure that children can face the trauma that this war is. as we do that, let us continue to bolster up the american people's support and let us address their needs because they have needs, but let us make sure that the victory is ours. and finally, i am grateful for one of our hostages coming home.

he lives in texas. there are two more that we know that are well-known. and we must bring home both of them, including the olympian that plays in russia and who is a wnba star, we must bring them home. i support this legislation and ask all those to support this important legislation. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time is up. the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from south carolina is recognized. mr. wilson: i continue to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from south carolina reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. meeks: madam speaker, i'm now pleased to yield two minutes to the representative from the great state of tennessee, representative steve cohen. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. cohen: thank you, madam speaker and mr. chairman. i rise to support this important legislation that congressman wilson and i co-sponsored. we had bipartisan support on this legislation as well. it's important that we support ukr ukraine in every way possible. america does not have to give up

its blood from our soldiers in this war. we only have to give our treasure. what a bargain that is for america. we supply and help the u krapians fight -- ukrainians fight the russians. putin sees this as a war against america and the west. we are fortunate, eventually it will come to the nato lands, and it will be our blood, not just our treasure, that we would have to give. the ukrainians are doing a great job. i hope they get airplanes, too. every bomb that falls on the hospitals and kills innocent lives could be prevented, and we should try to do all we can to prevent it. i met today with the president of georgia. i met with the president of kosovo. they both are concerned that putin's got their lies on their countries as well. and he does. he's looking at the balkans. he's looking at the baltic, where i visited lithuania. and i have been to estonia and latvia. he desires those countries, too. he wants to put together what peter the great had as a russian

empire and he won't be stopped unless we do it and if we can do with ukrainian men and women fighting, we are lucky and we are fortunate and we should do all we can to help them. putin is a bully, and you don't stop a bully with kindness and negotiations. you have to stand up to that person, stand up to the bully. that's the only thing they understand and respect. we need to continue our sanctions and sanction him into oblivion. we need to support or else this war will go on and america will be at risk to be personally involved. ukraine is the battleground now. america would be next through nato and other efforts of putin. glory to ukraine. glory to the united states of america. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from south carolina is recognized. mr. wilson: i continue to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from south carolina reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. meeks: yes, madam speaker.

it's now my pleasure to yield two minutes to the very distinguished individual from ohio, representative ryan. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio is recognized. mr. ryan: i thank the distinguished chair. we shall pay any price, we shall bear any burden, we shall support any friend, oppose any foe to ensure the survival and the success of liberty. president kennedy's inaugural address. and here we stand in the most powerful country, in the most powerful legislative body voting on an issue of freedom, of liberty, the basic foundation of

this country. and i am proud that this is a bipartisan effort to support the ukrainian people and the ukrainian leadership, because they have paid the ultimate sacrifice. they are bearing the ultimate burden. and so it is appropriate for us as this monster, vladimir putin, invades a free country, blackmails the neighbors around energy issues, scares all of eastern europe and all of europe, and in conjunction with the support of china, who looked the other way and said, well, just till after the olympics. there's a lot at stake here. this is about much more than just ukraine. this is about freedom around the

world, and i agree with what the chairman said and so many other speakers. we cannot let vladimir putin gain one inch of soil in ukraine, not one inch. you can't reward bad behavior. you can't reward violence. and that is what we will be doing. so i rise in support of this bill. i support the $33 billion that the president has proposed this morning. i support getting airplanes. i ask the gentleman for an additional minute or two. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. meeks: i yield the gentleman another minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. ryan: so we need to continue this process. not one inch of soil. because when you -- you're in ohio or you're in a lot of countries like mr. pascrell said, you're in new jersey or states like new jersey or ohio

where we have people from ukraine and from poland and from lithuania and those ties run deep, their family members, friends that they lost that have gotten killed, slaughtered by a monster. so we need to keep going. planes. the $33 billion that the president wants. this process ex-at the indicts all that -- expedites all that. we should look what we need to do to china if they continue to support russia in this effort. and i think in a bipartisan way we need to come together around a whole of government approach. we need to get natural gas from eastern ohio to eastern europe, from western pennsylvania to eastern europe, from west virginia and new york to eastern europe and knock the legs out of vladimir putin. whole of government approach.

be aggressive. not one inch of territory. and make sure we ensure the survival and the success of liberty. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from south carolina is recognized. mr. wilson: i continue to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. meeks: madam speaker, i'm going to yield myself another minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. meeks: i think that it is important to note that 35 -- s. 3522 is a smart and critical step to give another piece of artillery to the administration so that it has flexibility as it

needs to provide ukraine the support that it needs so that it has the ability to win. it is also important to show -- and that's why it's important for us to be on the floor today. as mr. wilson has indicated, the unity that we have here in the united states house of representatives -- and i will tell you that working with mr. mccaul and mr. wilson and mrs. spartz on the other side of the aisle, as well as with all of my colleagues on the committee on the democratic side of the aisle and working with the speaker and the majority leader, it is that unity it's what's going to win this war. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman reserves.

the gentleman from south carolina is recognized. mr. wilson: i continue to reserve the balance of my time. i'm very grateful that we next will have the speaker of the house. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. meeks: and i am very pleased to recognize the great speaker of the united states house of representatives, the honorable nancy pelosi, for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: and the great speaker is recognized. the speaker: madam speaker, thank you for the recognition. i thank the gentleman for yielding, and i thank our distinguished mr. wilson for his yielding as well. i'm so pleased that this legislation has such strong bipartisan support on the floor of the house. the re -- to remove all doubt in anyone's mind, that we are committed as a nation, as a congress, and house and senate in terms of in legislation, i

thank you, both, for your leadership. i appreciate what you said, mr. chairman, about your working with your ranking member, mr. mccaul, on this important issue as well. so thank you very much for affording us this opportunity today. madam speaker, 81 years ago president franklin delano roosevelt came here to the congress of the united states, to the house of representatives where i'm proud to say my father, thomas d'alesandro, served as a member of congress, and president franklin roosevelt delivered a bold and historic request. in his 1941 state of the union address, president roosevelt explained that democracy itself, democracy itself was under direct -- was under dire threat, not only in europe but around the world. and he called on congress to lend a hand to our allies over seas, bolstering their defenses so they can defeat the evils of fascism. it was this initiative that would be enacted just two months

later, then undeniably turned the tide of the second world war, and the lend-lease program would help propel the allies to a victory that preserved the promise of democracy for generations to come. . we see that today as a tyrant seeks to conquer its neighbor. at this moment and this moment we summon our commitment response, a commitment to respond. the ukraine democracy defense lend-lease act of 2022 revives this program waving time requirementments to send critical resources to ukraine. important to know it's about time. time is very important when lives are at stake. in doing so the administration will move faster to bolster the forces and repel the russian

invaders and protect civilians and preserve their democracy. as war rages. every minute matters. this strong action could mean the difference between lives saved and lives lost. in any battle it could be the margin between victory and defeat. it is with unity that the senate sent this important legislation after passing it with a unanimous vote and as we hope to secure a strong bipartisan vote here in the house, let us salute the leaders, chairman meeks. he acknowledged ranking member mccaul from texas and congressman wilson who is managing the bill on the republican side today and congressman steve cohen who is

playing air role in this legislation. madam speaker, restoring the lend-lease action is the latest action taken by this congress to strengthen ukraine and decimate russian. we have delivered billions in humanitarian security and assistance including $13.6 billion in the latest supplemental and more to come as our president has put forth a request earlier today that we will turn into legislation, turning to support democracy in ukraine and therefore democracy in the world. i salute the president for his leadership. these resources are already on the $13.6 billion are reaching communities on the ground. but we need to do more. as we prepare to take up the president's new supplemental

request, we are moving in lock-step with the administration and our allies to isolate russia and devastate its economy. from severing normal trade relations to beening the import of russian energy, our strong actions in the house and senate have made rush i can't remember weaker in every way. and the house took the first steps to prosecute russian war crimes so the perpetrators can be held accountable for their unthinkable, grotesque are atrocities. later today, with the blessing of the embassy of ukraine and we invite people to come a photo exhibit that captures many of these atrocities. these haunting photographs show the horror and heartbreak of russia's aggression against ukraine and serves as a reminder

to take swift, decisive action to help. going back to lend-lease in march of 1941, franklin roosevelt called upon the conscience of our country when he declared the light of democracy must be kept burning and not enough us to polish the glass. the time has come where we must provide the fuel in ever increasing amounts to keep the flame alive. madam speaker, our task remains the same. i want to acknowledge and i thank mr. chairman and others for your support. we do lend-lease today and the omnibus bill, $13.6 billion and talked about severing our purchase of oil and severing our normal trade relations, but we also did something yesterday when we did what i call seize

and freeze. seize the assets of the oligarchs, and that money and freeze it and use that money to help rebuild, help rebuild ukraine after the victory over the rush quans. so again, we are thinking of what we need to do in humanitarian assistance and what we need to do in economic assistance and what we must do insecurity assistance, weapons, hornets but we have to do some other aspects as well. our task today remains the same. make no mistake, russia invaded. and with courage and determination, the ukranian people are putting their lives on the line for democracy, not only for their own nation but democracy at large. this is about freedom versus

dictatorship. autocracy versus democracy. ukranian people are making the fight for all of us. we must help them. it is our honor to help them by helping to fuel this righteous fight. it is with endless admiration for the ukranian people. just everybody, i won't start naming names. all of us have visited them and keeping democracy's precious flame and i urge a strong bipartisan yie vote for this vital legislation. with that, i thank the gentleman for yielding and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. mr. meeks: reserves. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from south carolina is recognized.

mr. wilson: i yield four minutes to the gentleman from michigan, mr. walberg. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. walberg: thank you, madam speaker, for your statements. i agree wholeheartedly with you. america is having a fight undertaken for us by the ukranian forces. ukraine is fighting for liberty around the world. it is fighting for freedom-loving countries that want to push back against aggression from any nation, whether it be russia, or china or any other that would attempt to take away liberties from free citizens. i just returned from ukraine tuesday night and spent easter weekend in ukraine. i had unbelievable privilege of speaking in two churches.

the city had been impacted by missiles and bombs, homes blown up, lives taken, and a church that had not met since the beginning of the war met on easter, resurrection sunday. and i looked at the faces of the people how do i speak to them, an american member of congress, who lives freely, without nations trying to take freedoms away and i could only respond to them, his words, jesus, himself. and i looked at the faces of the people and there was resolve there and there was joy that they were doing what was necessary to promote freedom for their land. i spoke in another church in kyiv that afternoon, the same view points on the faces of those citizens and a great appreciation for america, for

the western allies for what we have done thus far to stand with them. they are fighting for us, as well as for themselves. later that afternoon, i went out to the bucha region and saw the sight of a massive undertaking by russia to take over kyiv. and amazing forces of the citizens fought back. hundreds of ukranian lives lost. i saw a boot laying there of a russian soldier with the foot still in it. and i came to understand that ukranians aren't killing russians, putin is. america needs to stand. i was in odessa and saw the missile strike on an apartment that took the lives of a grandmother, and daughter and

three-month-old baby of that young lady. i talked to the mayor of odessa. they are standing firm. the blockade must be taken away so they can feed the world. in my pocket, i carry an emblem, military emblem that was given to me at the air field that the brave forces took on russia trying to take that air field to become a hopping-off point. they held back russia's troops, they are elite marines. they took out the largest aircraft in the world that was only used for humanitarian reasons. this bill is necessary. i express appreciation to my colleagues moving it forward and express appreciation to our speaker moving it forward. stand with ukraine.

they have stood with us. god bless ukraine. god bless america. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time the gentleman from new york. mr. meeks: i have no further requests for time and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from souct carolina. mr. wilson: i yield myself such time as i may consume. in closing, this bill calls to provide the defense articles needed to defeat putin's forces and for the land of ukraine to be returned to its rightful and lawful inhabitants. the ukranian fight is a fight of freedom-loving people around the world. this is part of author tarn yism which is rule of gun opposing democracy, rule of law. america stands with president zelenskyy, with president of the

republic of georgia and president of moldova and rightful president of belarus. additionally, as we are discussing lend-lease, i had the opportunity with congresswoman in 2005 to visit the largest open cemetery in st. petersburg. the people -- we were there to show the love and affection of the united states and people of russia. we were there to also find out that it was american lend-lease equipment that provided for the defeat of hitler and the saving of the putin family. leaped-lease has a long history for providing for freedom

successfully. in december, i visited the ukranian patriots in kyiv. i'm confident that ukraine will win for exteme and independence. we are inspired by the ukranian-american representative spartz from indiana and over a pillion ukranian-americans who are successful across america. i urge all members to support this legislation. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. meeks: i yield myself such time for the purposes of clo closing. madam speaker, as we stand here right now in the house foreign affairs committee, secretary anthony blinken is testifying. and talking about his recent

visit to kyiv, asking or applying to questions that members on both sides are asking, and the sense of unity that has been talked about here today about us being united against putin's aggression. about us standing together and trying to make sure that we do all that we can to help the ukranian people. and that unity, that unity is what's going to make sure that we preserve democracies around the world. it is the unity that we've seen with the united states in the

lead, keeping 30 nato countries together, which no one thought would happen. before this incursion. it is the unity of bringing our asian allies together. it is the unity bringing our western hemisphere allies together and it is the unity of bringing our african american allies together. it is that unity right here in the united states congress working together is what's going to prevail. there was a question before i left the hearing. one member asked, he was at a town hall meeting and someone asked the question -- well, what does this mean to me? that was the question. and secretary blinken said, of which i agree, what does it

mean? well, when you look with what's at stake, number one, the world is asking, what happens? are there any consequences to a country who decides just to go and invade someone else's sovereign property? if we allow that to happen, if it could happen there, it can happen anywhere. so the question of what we do, what we stand for, who we are, what our values are are on the line right now. not only in ukraine but all of us who believe in democracy. when you look at the consequences and the lack of care of the rest of the world by this invasion by mr. putin, we're going to have to do hearings to talk about starvation. people around the world will

starve because of the lack of wheat. we're looking at what he's trying to utilize with reference to energy resources. it has a reverbcation right back here in the united states, as we take a look what's taking place with rising oil costs, with rising food costs. so this is about us around the world. some, yes, making sacrifices so we can show the world that unity and together we'll prevent evil from occurring. we've seen it once in the 1940's. never thought i'd have to see them fight it again in 2022. this is a trying time for the camera of history, which is

rolling, and i, again, want to thank -- because i've been working very closely with my ranking member, mr. mccaul, to make sure we have one voice on this. we've talked often and make sure we're working in a bipartisan manner. i thank mr. wilson for managing this bill on the floor and doing and working collectively together in that regards. i thank the leadership on both sides of the aisle, because with that, ukraine will win. and when ukraine wins, the american people win, the world wins, democracy wins. and with >> on saturday, trevor noah

headlines the first white house correspondents association dinner since 2019. president biden is expected to attend the first time since 2016 sitting president has made an appearance. television coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. sites and sounds from inside the ballroom and highlights from past dinners ahead of the program. coverage on c-span.org and the video app begins at six clock p.m. eastern where you can watch celebrities, journalists and other guests arrive for the dinner. the white house correspondents association dinner, live saturday on c-span, c-span radio, c-span.org and the c-span now video app. ♪ >> live, sunday on it in depth, author and foxbusiness host larry kudlow will be our guest

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