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Tag: foreign aid
Guam National Guard Troops Troll Ignorant Rep. Greene -- With Cookies

Guam National Guard Troops Troll Ignorant Rep. Greene -- With Cookies

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has faced one controversy after another during her time in Congress, and the far-right Republican recently offended residents of the U.S. territory of Guam by incorrectly describing it as a foreign country. Some Guam National Guard troops responded this week by visiting Greene's office to give her some cookies, and they were led by Democrat Michael F.Q. San Nicolas — a Guam delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.

"It is unclear whether any military rules were broken, and it does not appear that any of the soldiers involved will face disciplinary action," Military.com reporter Steve Beynon explains. "Maj. Gen. Esther J.C. Aguigui, adjutant general of the Guam National Guard, said she appreciated Nicolas' efforts to represent Guam's culture on Capitol Hill."

Aguigui issued an official statement, saying, "We thank Congresswoman Greene for ultimately helping raise awareness of Guamanians as citizens of the United States, and our rich tradition of service and sacrifice to our nation. As a non-partisan entity, the Guam National Guard is here to continue this legacy of supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States and the freedoms it provides."


Rep. Greene Thinks U.S. Territory Guam Gets Too Much ‘Foreign Aid’

Rep. Greene Thinks U.S. Territory Guam Gets Too Much ‘Foreign Aid’

Reprinted with permission from American Independent

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) included the U.S. territory of Guam when listing foreign nations that she says are receiving American tax dollars.

Greene made the comments on February 27, the second day of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, in Orlando, Florida, in one of the event's side sessions.

"We believe our hard-earned tax dollars should just go for America. Not for, what? China, Russia, the Middle East, Guam, whatever, wherever," said Greene.

Guam has been a part of the United States since 1899, ceded to the United States by Spain in accordance with the Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish-American War in 1898.

People born in Guam are U.S. citizens. More than 160,000 Americans live in Guam, and 7,000 members of the American military are stationed at U.S. Naval Base Guam and Andersen Air Force Base on the island.

While citizens of Guam cannot vote in presidential elections, in 2020 Republicans in the territory caucused during the primaries and awarded 9 delegates to Donald Trump, helping him to secure the Republican presidential nomination.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.

Senators Already In Their Corners In Upcoming Debate Over Ukraine Aid

Senators Already In Their Corners In Upcoming Debate Over Ukraine Aid

By William Douglas and Lesley Clark, McClatchy Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Russia’s annexation of Crimea has produced yet another perfect storm in Washington: a fast-moving international crisis and a slow-moving U.S. Congress.

The Senate next week will try once again to take up a $1 billion aid and sanctions bill to help struggling Ukraine after attempts to bring up the measure eroded into a barrage of ill will and finger-pointing on the chamber floor just before Congress adjourned for a one-week recess.

Before the adjournment, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s troops were working to secure Crimea. When the Senate holds a procedural vote Monday on Ukraine, lawmakers will be dealing with a Crimea that Putin has firmly declared is now part of Russia.

“The more dilly-dallying here, the more difficult we make the problem for the Ukraine and ourselves,” said former Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-IN), head of Indiana University’s Center on Congress and a former chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee. “For the Congress to take a break at a time you have an international crisis doesn’t help. Time is of the essence.”

President Barack Obama concurred, urging Congress to swiftly pass a Ukraine aid package.

“Expressions of support are not enough,” he said Thursday on the White House South Lawn. “We need action.”

But Russia’s hold on Crimea might not be enough to persuade senators to pick up their pace, as there’s sharp disagreement among Republicans over a provision in the bill that revamps the International Monetary Fund.

Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he’s confident there’s enough Republican support to prevent the bill from being bottled up. White House press secretary Jay Carney said Friday that the administration believes the Ukraine aid bill “can and should move forward quickly through Congress as soon as Congress is back.”

Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL) says he’s not sure.

The provision would allow the IMF to move $63 billion from its crisis fund to its general accounts. The move, which increase the IMF’s quota — or equity capital — would make good on a 2010 international agreement that also would re-balance the fund’s board of directors to give economically emerging nations like China, India and Brazil a greater voice.

Conservative Republicans say the change is unnecessary and would diminish U.S. clout over the fund. Some Republicans also believe that the IMF has served as an enabler, bailing out countries that have suffered economic hard times because of poor financial decisions made by their governments.

The House of Representatives passed a Ukraine aid bill on March 6 that contains $1 billion in loan guarantees but excludes IMF restructuring. Several conservative senators blocked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) from moving quickly on the legislation. They voiced opposition to the Senate bill and support for the House measure.

“I would suggest that the so-called IMF reforms are misguided policy,” Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) said before the break during a sometimes heated exchange on the Senate floor. “There is no need whatsoever for these reforms. I agree with Speaker of the House John Boehner, who says these so-called IMF reforms are unnecessary.”

Groups such as the Tea Party-tinged FreedomWorks and Heritage Action, the political arm of the conservative Heritage Foundation, are poised to oppose a “yes” vote on Monday’s Senate vote to proceed with considering the Ukraine aid package containing the IMF measures.

If there’s a delay in getting money to Ukraine, Obama and Democrats have no one to blame but themselves for insisting that the IMF overhaul be included in the bill, according to Dan Holler, a Heritage Action spokesman.

“This could have been out the door before (Congress’) recess,” Holler said. “Ukraine aid was something that had a lot of support. Then it got bogged down by IMF, which could not have passed alone. Now it has the potential to delay things for a long time.”

However, some key Senate Republicans feel the situation in Ukraine is too urgent for the aid bill to get delayed over the IMF overhaul. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate, called the IMF provision “ill-advised” in a Washington Post op-ed piece Thursday but added that Russia’s “unrelenting aggression” dictates approving the bill.

Senator John McCain of Arizona, the 2008 Republican presidential candidate, criticized fellow Republican senators for delaying action on Ukraine aid because of their opposition to the IMF overhaul. He continued his tongue-lashing in a conference call with reporters on Friday.

“I said, ‘You call yourselves Republicans if you want to because that’s your voter registration, but don’t call yourselves Reagan Republicans.'” McCain said. “To allow an IMF reform measure to block us from doing the things that would help the people of Ukraine in their hour of need is unbelievable. And by the way, it is kind of a remarkable commentary about where at least part of the Republican Party (is) going.”

A prolonged Ukraine debate could hurt Obama as he attempts to rally international political and economic support for Ukraine during meetings next week with European officials in Brussels and The Hague.

Jeremy Shapiro, a visiting foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution and a former State Department policy planning official under Obama, said that the White House and Congress must come through with an aid package for Ukraine and that the IMF issue is “something the president is going to have to deliver on.”

Shapiro said that European leaders are following the issue closely.

“He doesn’t have to deliver on it next week, but I think he’s going to have to make that promise to them and he’s going to have to deliver on it in the reasonably near future,” he said.

Photo: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Talk Of Financial Aid For Ukraine Gains Traction

Talk Of Financial Aid For Ukraine Gains Traction

By Paul Richter and Kathleen Hennessey, Tribune Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Russia’s military action in Crimea has strengthened support for economic aid to beleaguered Ukraine, yet the multibillion-dollar package under discussion in world capitals still must navigate a treacherous course.

With Russian troops now essentially in control of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, President Barack Obama challenged lawmakers who have been demanding tough action to start with an aid package to help shore up the fledgling government in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital.

Obama said Monday that he had heard “a lot of talk from Congress about what should be done.” He said the first order of business should be assistance “that stands above partisan politics.”

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said Sunday that the Obama administration would work with other governments to provide “all the assistance Ukraine needs,” and the Group of 7 leading industrialized nations committed itself to “strong financial backing.”

How much money Ukraine needs to keep its economy from collapse is in some dispute, but by most reckonings the figure is huge.

Steven Pifer, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine now at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution, said a financial bailout for Ukraine’s obligations could require $15 billion to $20 billion this year and as much as $15 billion next year.

By comparison, U.S. economic aid to all countries totaled $31 billion last year.

Secretary of State John F. Kerry last week said the Obama administration was contemplating an immediate $1 billion loan guarantee, possibly joined by an undisclosed amount in direct aid, to help Ukraine meet its obligations. Europe was considering about $1 billion, he said.

Senior lawmakers indicated they were willing to listen. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, say they are ready to consider aid, although it’s not clear if they agree on the details in an era of budget cuts.

Menendez said Monday that lawmakers were working on legislation to fund the $1 billion loan guarantee as well as help with energy reforms, elections, strengthening of civil society, anti-corruption efforts and the recovery of stolen assets.

Cantor suggested a more limited scope, saying the House was considering loan guarantees but with a caveat. “We must make sure it is done responsibly and any legislation is not delayed by adding divisive provisions,” he said.

The State Department is to present a legislative request for a loan guarantee to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday, according to a committee aide. Officials appear to be seeking a path that might avoid confrontation with budget hawks who could hold up a costly aid package.

A senior congressional aide said discussions had focused on using $200 million that has already been appropriated for the State Department to pay for the loan guarantee.

But the aide, who said Kerry went “a lot over his skis” in his initial promise of aid, said there had been no decisions on further assistance. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity in describing sensitive discussions.

Administration officials are trying to make the case that providing aid to Ukraine doesn’t mean carrying an indefinite financial burden. Though it has developed a reputation for widespread corruption in the post-Soviet era, Ukraine is potentially wealthy with natural resources, agriculture and industry, they say.

“This is a short-term problem that results from the gross mismanagement and corruption and ripping off of the Ukrainian economy of the previous regime,” a senior administration official told reporters in a conference call Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Most of the money required for Ukraine’s bailout would come from the International Monetary Fund. Its officials tried to support the former government in Kiev for years but were deeply frustrated as Ukraine refused to reform its finances and repeatedly defaulted on obligations.

The transitional government that took over last month after President Viktor Yanukovich fled the country is pledging to take austerity steps right away. The steps could include raising prices for natural gas, which have been held artificially low, removing any incentive for business to develop Ukraine’s gas resources.

Raising prices is likely to generate a strong public backlash, however. Arseny Yatsenyuk, the acting prime minister, has referred to the current leadership team as a “kamikaze” Cabinet because he fears it will be thrown out because of resistance to government belt-tightening.

The IMF, which sent a team to Ukraine on Monday for a 10-day visit, has indicated it would like to delay a long-term deal with Ukraine until after the May 25 presidential election. Fund officials don’t like to negotiate deals with transitional governments that may soon be gone.

The government says it is willing to agree to the austerity steps right away, to open the way for the IMF to offer an infusion of about $1.4 billion, probably coupled with a similar amount from the European Union.

It’s not clear, however, if European countries will chip in directly to supplement the IMF contributions.

The French have been unenthusiastic, and German officials, who are already bankrolling other teetering European economies, have stressed that the solution to the crisis must lie in Ukrainian austerity rather than checks from abroad.

Anders Aslund, a Swedish economist who has studied Ukraine, said he expected that the Northern European nations, including Germany, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries, would chip in.

“They will be under huge pressure from Central European countries,” said Aslund, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. “If Ukraine goes under, the Russians will be able to walk in and take over.”

Photo: Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCT