Washington, February 22 The Republican-controlled U.S. Lower House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Wednesday called on federal agencies in charge of millions of dollars approved for aid to Ukraine to provide documents guaranteeing their transparency.
This committee recalled in a letter sent to the Department of State and Defense and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) that since Russia invaded Ukraine almost a year ago , Congress has authorized more than $113 billion in humanitarian, economic, or security assistance.
“It is essential that government agencies administering these funds ensure that they are used for their intended purpose to prevent and reduce the risk of waste, fraud and abuse. The Committee needs documents and information to understand how they oversee these funds,” they pointed out to Republican lawmakers.
His statement added that, as seen during the covid-19 pandemic, the urgency that leads to quickly authorizing spending can lead to waste and further abuse.
The committee therefore stressed that it will monitor Ukraine’s spending to ensure that it is checked against the risk of fraud.
“The United States must identify these risks and develop oversight mechanisms to mitigate them. As it continues to provide assistance through multilateral agencies under pressure to spend funds quickly, we must ensure that safeguards are in place to prevent their misuse,” they concluded.
February 24 marks the first year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and US President Joe Biden, who paid a surprise visit to Kiev on Monday, made it clear that the United States would defend the European country as long as it will be necessary.
Algunos republicanos, no obstante, maintain que no debe to offer a “blank check” to Ucrania, and desde que en las elecciones de medio mandato de noviembre los conservadores ganaran el control de la Cámara de Representantes han aprovechado su mayoría para incrementar sus exigencias in regards to.