VoteVets on Senate Passage of Aid to Ukraine
STATEMENT OF MARY KASZYNSKI, Director of Government Relations, on the Senate passing bills to fund allies:
“We applaud the Senate for taking swift action and getting these vital bills to the President’s desk. The delay that was caused by Republicans doing the bidding of Donald Trump has not been without significant cost to Ukraine and security in Europe and around the world.
“Ukrainians are giving their last full measure to defend democracy against a brutal dictator. Meanwhile, Republicans in the House and Senate gave Putin a hand by blocking this bill for months. In doing so, they undermined our ally. Let’s be clear, hIstory will judge those who delayed this vital aid harshly.
“We applaud Leader Schumer and all Democrats for their unwavering commitment to American national security. And we thank those – on both sides of the aisle – who stood up and did the right thing and supported this aid.
“Thanks to the tireless leadership of President Biden, Ukraine will now finally get the resources they need to hold back Putin and advance the cause of freedom and democracy.”
Timeline of VoteVets actions in support of the Supplemental:
In total, VoteVets has spent nearly $800,000 on organizing, direct targeting and advertising pushing the House to pass the Senate bill.
Those activities and spending include:
March, 2024
VoteVets launched a $530,000 two-week television ad buy explicitly calling out seven Members of Congress for not supporting a vote on a bipartisan national security bill that fully funds Ukraine’s war effort versus Vladmir Putin. Those members were Jen Kiggans, Marc Molinaro, Brandon Williams, Juan Ciscomani, David Valadao, John Duarte, and Lori-Chavez DeRemer.
March, 2024
VoteVets released a moving 60-second ad, urging House Republican leadership to call a vote on the security aid package recently passed by the Senate. The ad featured the words of Ronald Reagan on the 40th Anniversary of D-Day juxtaposed over footage of the current war Vladimir Putin is waging in Ukraine.
The ad ran for one week on FOX News at a cost of $100,000. A video billboard of the ad also circled the Capitol building all day, as well.
VoteVets unveiled the ad and more at a Capitol Hill press conference with House and Senate Members
December, 2023
VoteVets launched a $100,000 national and DC cable buy with its ad, “Waiting,” which would later be used to target individual House members, as detailed above.
Oct, 2023
VoteVets, along with House and Senate members called for a a national security package to fund Ukraine to be passed, at a press conference on Capitol Hill that was widely covered. That package did pass, on a bipartisan basis, and was sent to the House, where Speaker Johnson has refused to vote on it.
SEE COVERAGE OF THAT PRESS CONFERENCE HERE
Sept, 2023
As the evidence of war crimes by Putin began to pile up, VoteVets released this powerful video laying out the stakes for Ukraine and America, and calling for continued funding for our National Security and Ukraine.
These are just some of the actions VoteVets has taken in support of the funding for Ukraine. The group has been extremely active on the matter since Putin invaded, even launching an emergency video, featuring LTC (Ret.) Alexander Vindman, as the invasion of Ukraine began.