Media

Washington, D.C. - Today, Congressman Jim Baird (IN-04) released the following statement after voting on four major pieces of legislation during a Saturday session of Congress. Rep. Baird voted in favor of the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act and the 21st Century Peace through Strength Act while voting against the Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act and the Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental Appropriations Act. 

“The Biden administration’s weak leadership on the world stage and their disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan has emboldened the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world, Iran; and terrorists like Hamas, to attack American allies and target innocent civilians,” said Rep. Baird. “Israel is our oldest ally in the Middle East, and our friends across the world are watching to see how we respond to this attack on the Israeli people. We must stand with our allies and send a strong message that we will not tolerate terrorism. I fully support Israel in their struggle for peace and security against fundamentalist Islamic terrorism.”

“While I completely condemn Russia for their unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, I was disappointed to see that aid to Ukraine was not tied to forcing this administration to secure our southern border. Additionally, the United States cannot continue pouring endless amounts of money into the country with no clear strategy in place. It is unfortunate that the President and Democrats seem more interested in protecting Ukraine’s border than our own.”

“In order to confront the broader threat posed by the alliance between Iran, China, Russia, and Islamic terrorism, we need to make massive public policy changes that increase sanctions on our adversaries and restrict the export of American technologies. The 21st Century Peace through Strength Act includes the most comprehensive sanctions against Iran that Congress has passed in years and protects Americans from the influence of Communist China-controlled TikTok.”

Background:

Rep. Baird voted on several amendments to the legislation including,

• Voting yes on amendment 49 to the Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act to reduce every dollar amount in the bill to zero.

• Voting yes on amendment 137 to the Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act to eliminate all non-military funding related to Ukraine.

• Voting yes on amendment 9 to the Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act to eliminate increases in the transfer of funds and mergers with funds under the IDFC.

• Voting yes on the amendment 26 to the 21st Century Peace through Strength Act to require the U.S. Department of Treasury to submit a report and briefing to Congress identifying all assets of the Iranian government or Iranian individuals valued at more than $5 million and require a list of all licenses, statements of licensing policy, actions letters, and all other sanction exemptions relating to Iran.