Chris Van Hollen: “let me start by thanking my friend and colleague from Indiana for providing those wise words and good examples from…”

“let me start by thanking my friend and colleague from Indiana for providing those wise words and good examples from Abraham Lincoln. Supplemental Funding Madam President, I come to the floor today to discuss the National Security Act, which has many important components, including support for Ukraine, for Israel, and for countries in the Indo-Pacific, as well as humanitarian assistance to help respond to crises around the world, including in Ukraine, in Gaza, the West Bank, Sudan, and elsewhere. It also includes funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program to better protect those nonprofits here in the United States, including places of worship, that face elevated risks from hate crimes. I have spoken many times on this floor about the imperative of providing the people of Ukraine with more desperately needed military assistance to protect their sovereignty and to protect their democracy. We must not abandon them to Putin's brutal onslaught. The Ukrainian people are putting their blood and their lives on the line to defend their freedom. The least we can do--the least we can do--is provide them, together with our allies, with the weapons and other support they need to do that. It is not only the freedom of Ukraine that is at stake; abandoning the people of Ukraine to Putin would destroy our credibility with our allies and our adversaries. It would undermine our word with both friend and foe not only in Europe but around the world.…”