Senator Wicker Statement on President Biden Planning to Use Presidential Drawdown Authority for Ukraine

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, today released the following comment in response to reports that the Biden-Harris administration intends to notify Congress that they will tap into the nearly $6 billion remaining in Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) for Ukraine.

The authority to transfer weapons to Ukraine would expire October 1, 2024, unless Congress approves an extension.The administration does not plan to accelerate the transfer of weapons to Ukraine, meaning this nearly $6 billion package will be parceled out through the end of calendar year 2025 at current rates.

"It is unfortunately typical of this administration to wait until the last possible moment to announce full use of the PDA. Brave Ukrainians are fighting and dying defending their country so that Americans and Europeans won't have to. President Biden needs to expedite the actual transfer immediately. They need weapons, not words," Senator Wicker said.

Congress granted President Biden extensive use of drawdown authority for two reasons: It enables him as commander-in-chief to deliver weaponry at a much faster rate to Ukraine than most other tools, and it would help the United States fortify its defense industrial base for the long term with replenishment funding.

Senator Wicker also highlighted the following facts:

• Almost three years into this war, the Biden-Harris administration has not publicly articulated a strategy for Ukrainian victory, nor any measurement for the speedy delivery of weapons.
• Almost three years into this war, the Biden-Harris administration has yet to private or publicly conduct an assessment of how much weaponry the United States could give to Ukraine given that weapons transfers to date have significantly degraded the Russian military.
• Utilizing the PDA would expedite the distribution of artillery, air defense interceptors, missiles, and more from our stockpiles.
• In 2022, the Biden-Harris administration allowed nearly $3 billion in Ukraine support authority to expire.
• The Department of Defense is allowing decisions about weapons deliveries to take months longer than necessary, and some weapons systems contracts are now years behind where they could be.
• The spring 2024 national security supplemental was intended to last Ukraine through the election, with an authority to use $7.7 billion in weapons drawdowns. The Biden-Harris administration has not spent close to all of this figure, and is roughly supporting Ukraine at a pace four to six months behind the optimal tempo.
• The Biden-Harris administration still has roughly $2.8 billion in "recaptured" drawdown authority that they have not used.