Key Vote Alert – “NO” on the Rule Providing for Consideration of Unpaid for Foreign Aid Supplemental Spending
The Club for Growth urges all Representatives to vote NO on the Rule providing for consideration of unpaid for foreign aid supplemental spending. The results of this vote will be included in the Club for Growth Foundation’s 2024 congressional scorecard.
America’s debt stands above $34.6 trillion. Inflation continues to rise far above the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target, and treasury yields are spiking as the Federal Government struggles to find willing buyers for our unsustainable debt. Conservatives can have good faith disagreements about foreign policy and the best course of action in conflicts around the globe. However, our elected representatives cannot continue to ignore the plain truth that the debt is a direct threat to our national security. Adding to our already unsustainable borrowing is a direct threat to economic growth as more scarce resources are vacuumed up by the federal leviathan. Meanwhile, mounting interest payments will crowd out needed investments in our defense posture and leave us unable to support our allies in the future.
Unfortunately, this package of $95 billion worth of supplemental spending – whatever the underlying policy merits may be – is not paid for. The seizure of $4.95 billion in assets under U.S. authority does not come close to offsetting the cost of the supplemental spending, and it is highly unlikely that our European allies will be willing to seize the assets under their jurisdiction. Moreover, 50 percent of the loan portion of the Ukrainian supplemental, which only applies to the $9.474 billion in assistance provided by the “Economic Support Fund” and “Assistance for Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia” fund, can be waived by the President and Congress after November 15, 2024, with any remaining indebtedness eligible to be waived after January 1, 2026. If the past is prologue, there is little doubt that repayment of this “loan” will be waived. Without offsets, the supplemental spending packages will drive total spending for FY2024 above FY2023 levels.
Finally, by packaging each supplemental that is approved by the House into a single legislative product for the Senate to consider, the rule’s structure violates the spirt of the rules governing the GOP Conference. Conference rules charge leadership with designating floor time for single-issue bills.
Club for Growth Foundation’s Congressional Scorecard for the 118th Congress provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies and will be distributed to the public.