{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=84367E5C-4D12-4AE0-9DD1-41045904F739", "America\u2019s Allies And Adversaries Both Understand Global Stakes In Ukraine", "2023-11-13", "2023", "2023-11", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", "mcconnell", "https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding aid to Ukraine:\n\n\u201cAs I\u2019ve said for months, Congress also has a responsibility to help our nation meet a growing network of serious threats from adversaries like Russia, China, and Iran.\n\n\u201cAs one recent analysis put it, \u2018Each of these revisionist states aids the others in their goals to\u2026 subvert or destroy democratic nations.\u2019\n\n\u201cJust consider the lengths that authoritarians in Beijing and terror sponsors in Tehran are going to prop up Vladimir Putin\u2019s brutal war in Ukraine.\n\n\u201cThe PRC has massively ramped up its purchases of Russian energy to help Moscow subvert Western sanctions. And Chinese materials are helping produce 80 million rounds of ammunition for Russian invaders.\n\n\u201cMeanwhile, Iran is providing maintenance for Russian aircraft that are subject to U.S. sanctions. And Iranian personnel are on Russian soil training Putin\u2019s forces to use their lethal kamikaze drones.\n\n\u201cSo Madam President, our adversaries are showing us by their actions that they\u2019re heavily invested in Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine. They clearly understand that their own ability to threaten America and the West is tied directly to what\u2019s happening in Eastern Europe.\n\n\u201cOur allies understand this reality, as well. It\u2019s why allies from Japan to Poland are making massive new commitments to modernizing their own defenses and expanding their defense industrial bases. This is good news for burden-sharing and for collective security.\n\n\u201cIn some cases, like Germany, our allies\u2019 investments since Russia\u2019s escalation in Ukraine mark a long-overdue departure from years of neglect for hard power.\n\n\u201cToday, as Berlin continues to pour new resources into its own military strength, our German allies have also announced a plan to double their direct military aid to Ukraine in the coming year.\n\n\u201cOf course, some of our European allies have never had the luxury of taking a holiday from history. For example, since the beginning of Russia\u2019s escalation, our NATO ally Estonia has allocated a nearly unparalleled share of its GDP in direct assistance. Estonians know that Vladimir Putin does not intend to stop at Kyiv.\n\n\u201cAmerica\u2019s friends understand that failing to check Vladimir Putin\u2019s aggression in Europe would have far-reaching consequences. So do our biggest adversaries.\n\n\u201cWe cannot afford to neglect this reality, ourselves. And we cannot deny the clear ways that America\u2019s support for Ukraine is driving our growing readiness to face other threats.\n\n\u201cThe emergency investments we\u2019ve made in the U.S. defense industrial base as a result of Russia\u2019s war on Ukraine are doubling production capacity of 155mm artillery rounds. They\u2019re driving a 40% increase in production of long-range precision fires. And nearly doubling capacity for air-to-air missiles.\n\n\u201cDenying the obvious connections between the threats we face can\u2019t obscure the fact that the benefits of investments in Western strength are also connected. Expanding our defense industrial bases means making America and our allies stronger \u2013 from Europe to the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific.\n\n\u201cThe most important thing anyone who is truly concerned about growing threats from China or Iran can do is support investments in American military capabilities and our defense industrial base. That includes both supplemental resources and full-year defense appropriations.\n\n\u201cIf we fail to take these steps, we won\u2019t just be starving our friends and allies, but our own military.\n\n\u201cThe threats we face are not divisible. But neither is the progress we\u2019re making toward restoring American strength.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:49:58Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=84367E5C-4D12-4AE0-9DD1-41045904F739"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4397120103240013, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}