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During a hearing for the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Ukraine Oversight and Accountability, Congressman Nathaniel Moran (TX-01) questioned Inspectors General from the Department of State, Department of Defense, and Agency for International Development regarding potential waste, fraud, and abuse over the U.S. resources given to Ukraine.

Congressman Moran’s full statement can be viewed by clicking below:

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Congressman Moran’s remarks, as delivered:

Let me just state, it’s imperative that the role that you’re providing to the American people is fulfilled to the greatest extent possible because it is in fact taxpayer money, U.S. taxpayer money, that’s going abroad for a number of items that otherwise could be used here.

I want to communicate to you some things from my district, I come from Northeast Texas, and I want to mention five specific concerns – and  there’s a lot of concerns out of my district and my constituents, but five in particular I want to mention here today that I want you to keep in the back of your mind because as we go through this process, I need to be able to say to my constituents, “we are addressing your concerns.” It’s important for me to do that.

I want you to know, first, that my constituents are rightfully questioning why U.S. taxpayers have sent more than 100 billion to Ukraine to defend its borders when this administration does little to nothing to secure our own border, particularly the southern border along the state of Texas.

Second, my constituents rightfully question why U.S. taxpayers are contributing billions of dollars to support pension and retirement plans for Ukrainian officials when our own social security trust fund is going broke and we have other needs here domestically.

Third, my constituents rightfully question whether our own military readiness is being compromised by the fact that we’re sending billions of dollars overseas, and whether or not it’s taking a backseat to the military assistance provided to Ukraine.

Fourth, my constituents are rightfully concerned about potential widespread waste, fraud, and abuse of moneys expended – a lot of what you’ve talked about here today, and I’m going to get into some of that with my questions.

And then fifth, I want to mention that my constituents are rightfully concerned about the levels of contribution by European nations to the Ukrainian defense of this unwarranted Russian invasion since those nations are closer to that conflict and more affected by Russian aggression. In fact, what they ask me time and time again is – why are we carrying such a heavy load, and is our money, in fact, being used the way it should be used? And why aren’t we using it for priorities here in America? And I understand those questions.

Now, even in light of those questions, I’ll tell you – they understand the need to push back against Russia. They understand the need to ensure that this unwarranted, uninvited invasion by Russia into Ukraine needs to be defended and repelled. So, we’ll start there and hopefully we’ll end with a good conclusion – but it cannot be in a world where the money sent by U.S. taxpayers is unaccounted for and used inappropriately.