Texas Republican Rep. Pat Fallon on visit to Eastern Europe
Texas Congressman Pat Fallon (R-Sherman) spoke with CBS 11 political reporter Jack Fink, following a six-day visit to Eastern Europe, where he saw first-hand how the refugee crisis from the war in Ukraine is playing out.
He was part of a bipartisan group of six lawmakers, making stops in Poland, Romania and Moldova, and briefly crossed over the border into Ukraine.
Half of the 4 million refugees who have left Ukraine are now in Poland – with a population of only 40 million people. Fallon said he was impressed by the response.
"There are no major refugee camps because the Polish people have literally opened their homes up to Ukrainian families that are coming over," he said.
Last week, President Biden said the U.S. is willing to accept up to 100,000 refugees, although Fallon said the U.S. can stand to do more.
"These are war refugees, not economic migrants," he said. "I personally believe 100,000 is a drop in the bucket, given that Poland took in two million."
Fallon also called on the Biden administration to increase the amount of direct military aid supplied to the Ukrainians. He said they need more anti-tank weapons, explosives and machine guns – and access to other weapons that the U.S. has so far not provided, like artillery and anti-aircraft missile systems.
Watch Fallon's full interview with Jack Fink in the player above.