House Bids to Defund Ukraine War Effort Fail

As budget deliberations continue, House shoots down amendments to cut $300 million annual Ukraine aid package and ban export of cluster munitions.

A man walks past a house destroyed by recent shelling in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on Sept. 11, 2023. Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

The House resoundingly rejected three proposed amendments to cut all funding for Ukraine and ban the United States from exporting cluster munitions while deliberating Sept. 27 on the nation’s defense budget bill.

Rep. Andy Biggs’s (R-Ariz.) proposal to “zero out” the annual $300 million Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative was shot down in a 330–104 vote, with 117 of the chamber’s 222 GOP lawmakers voting against the amendment.