As the House of Representatives prepares to vote on a new military aid package for Ukraine, the map above details the congressional districts receiving Ukraine aid funds, including examples of weapons systems being manufactured. It is. As this map shows, military aid not only protects Ukrainian civilians and promotes U.S. national security, but it also benefits workers and manufacturing communities here at home.
Providing military aid to Ukraine is the right thing to do. American-made weapons protect Ukrainian civilians from Russian artillery fire, prevent Russian forces from seizing Ukrainian cities and massacring their populations, and reduce Russia’s military threat to NATO. It is in our moral and national security interests to help Ukraine defeat Russia’s unwarranted aggression.
But military aid to Ukraine will also revitalize our nation’s defense industrial base, create hot production lines for the weapons needed to thwart potential adversaries, and create manufacturing jobs in the United States. are doing. According to an analysis by Mark Cancian of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, 90% of the $68 billion in military and related aid that Congress has approved so far has been spent in the United States rather than going to Ukraine. Because there is.
Along with a team of researchers at the American Enterprise Institute, I cataloged the weapons systems being manufactured for Ukraine in the United States, the congressional districts in which they are manufactured, and how members of Congress voted on their funding. identified. We analyzed contracts and news releases and spoke with defense industry experts, diplomats, and Department of Defense officials to determine where U.S. tax dollars go. We find that our military aid injects significant cash into 122 defense production lines in 65 Congressional districts across America, directly benefiting American workers. And that doesn’t include all the suppliers that provide parts and all the factories to these contractors. Restaurants and other businesses that support factories that deploy weapons in these districts.
Although many members of Congress voted in favor of aid being sent to their constituencies, many whose constituencies are the main beneficiaries have vocally opposed aid to Ukraine. Here is a breakdown of the regions where support for Ukraine is being provided and the members representing those regions.
Much of the Ukraine aid is going to southern congressional districts where lawmakers are opposed. For example, Ukraine aid is funding the High Mobility Artillery Rocket (HIMARS), Hellfire, and Javelin technology in Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R) Niceville, Florida, district. Rep. Bill Posey (R-Melbourne, Florida) is funding the HIMARS launcher and VAMPIRE counter-unmanned aircraft system weapons. Funding the HIMARS guidance set and AN/TPQ-53 radar system for Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s (R) Clearwater, Florida area. Congressman Barry Moore’s (R) final HIMARS and Javelin rally in his Troy, Alabama district. West Virginia Rep. Alex Mooney (R) HIMARS rocket motor production in the Rocket Center District. Rep. Diana Hershberger (R)’s C-4 explosives for Ukraine in the Kingsport, Tenn., area and Rep. Josh Brichen’s (R) Joint Direct Attack Weapons Extended Range (JDAM-ER) in Grove, Oklahoma. ) is funding the production of glide bombs. . , district.
This happened despite these members’ opposition to funding.
Workers in Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R) Lima, Ohio, congressional district are churning out Abrams tanks and Stryker combat vehicles for Ukraine, thanks to military aid he has opposed.
In U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden’s (R) Mesquite, Texas, district, Ukraine aid is also funding a brand new factory that will produce about 20,000 155mm shells per month and employ at least 125 people once it begins operations this year. We plan to hire people. Even though he voted against aid.
Over his objections, Rep. Scott Perry’s (R) constituents are producing Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, Bradley Fire Support Team Vehicles, and Hercules Recovery Vehicles for Ukraine in his York, Pennsylvania, district. . The Americans are also building ground-launched small-diameter bombs (GLSDB) and Patriot air defense missiles in Rep. John Joyce’s (R) Letterkenny/Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, district, despite his opposition.
Similar to previous military aid approved by Congress, about 80 percent of the new military aid package to Ukraine will go to Americans, CSIS’s Cancian said. This includes $23.2 billion to replenish the stockpile of U.S. arms and equipment already provided to Ukraine and to enable Ukraine’s rearmament through the purchase of arms and munitions from the U.S. defense industrial base. Includes $13.8 billion for
In many cases, the weapons being produced are not sent to Ukraine at all. Instead, we are sending older versions of weapon systems from our stockpile to Kiev and replacing them with brand new, more advanced versions. In this way, Ukraine is using aid funds to modernize its military. Our aid is restarting production lines for weapons that would otherwise have remained dormant, such as the Stinger anti-aircraft missile, which has not been produced since 2005.
Example: The Patriot air defense system is critical to the defense of both Ukraine and Israel. A new Ukraine aid package includes $1.5 billion to increase production of the advanced PAC-3 Patriot air attack interceptor. In 2018, the United States was producing missiles at a meager pace of 350 missiles per year. In December, thanks in part to Ukrainian aid, production increased to 500 pieces a year, and with a new aid package it will increase to 650 pieces a year. Congressman Bruce Westerman’s (R) Camden, Arkansas, district produces some of the most advanced of these products. Interceptor has had a mixed record on aid to Ukraine, voting against aid in 2022 but voting for aid in 2023.
The new aid package includes $5.3 billion to help the Army reach its goal of producing 100,000 155mm artillery shells per month. The funding will benefit factories in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and Bristol, Pennsylvania, which are receiving aid from Ukraine for this purpose. Camden, Arkansas. Kingsport and Cordova, Tennessee. Middletown, Iowa. Coachella, California. and Mesquite, Texas.
The plan includes $550 million to build the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), which is currently under construction in Camden, Arkansas, Lincoln, Nebraska, and Springboro, Ohio.
The plan includes $348 million for the production of TOW anti-tank guided missiles, which are already being manufactured in Dine and Farmington, New Mexico, and Tucson, Arizona, with Ukrainian aid; The production line includes $227 million for Javelin anti-tank missiles. Orlando; Tucson, Arizona. and Troy, Alabama, as well as funding many other critical weapons systems.
These investments will help protect Ukrainian civilians from Russian aggression while strengthening U.S. defenses so that they are ready to deter future adversaries.
How do MPs vote? In future essays, we’ll let you know who voted for defense jobs in their constituencies and who voted against them.
