Now that Congress is back in session, several new bills are lining up for votes, including the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) has recently taken a strong stance on this bill, deriding it for its inclusion of foreign aid.
The Representative first released a statement on X explaining her position on the bill. She reaffirmed her support for the U.S. military, which is the bill’s primary focus, but she can’t accept it in its current state.
Greene’s primary motivation for rejecting foreign intervention or foreign funding of any kind has always been her concern for unresolved domestic issues. In this case, she cited the $37 trillion of debt and the interest paid on it, which totals over $1 trillion a year.
She expressed concern over how poorly the economy has been performing and noted its effect on the younger generation, who seem unable to build momentum. She then called on Republicans to listen to the financial concerns of their constituents.
Greene concluded her statement, commenting that “most Americans are screaming about the cost of insurance, healthcare, groceries, bills, and housing, but Congress refuses to listen and continues to vote to send American’s hard earned tax dollars to foreign countries and foreign wars." This, she believes, will eventually lead to "a reckoning.”
The Representative followed up with another statement and a twelve-minute video of herself discussing the subject and her proposed amendments to the bill. She reaffirmed that the NDAA should only fund the American military, and it is simply not right for American tax dollars to fund foreign militaries.
The first amendment that Greene plans on introducing would strike $600 million reserved for Ukrainian security forces. The funding is twice as large as it normally is for undisclosed reasons.
The second amendment would strike all general funding for Ukraine, but the third one is far more controversial.
The third amendment would remove $500 million in missile defense foreign aid to Israel. Greene reasons that the U.S. already provides 15-20% of Israel’s defense budget, making this new spending redundant.
The final amendment strikes $650 million reserved for Iraq, Syria, and militant groups in other countries.
The Georgia Republican reasons that the U.S. has a poor track record of funding groups and that they only go on to make conflicts in the region even worse.
