Congress Split Over How U.S. Should Help Ukraine
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The war in Ukraine continues with more civilian casualties.
In the United States Congress, there is a debate over whether the country is doing enough to help.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made the impassioned plea over and over, including last week, to Congress. He wants the U.S. to help enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine. The Biden administration has said no, warning that would draw the U.S. directly into war with Russia. President Joe Biden even blocked an effort by Poland to send planes directly to Ukraine.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, on the other hand, has told Biden she would like to see the U.S. help send planes to Ukraine. Some Republicans, like Florida Sen. Rick Scott, are urging the president to support a no-fly zone. But Scott and 30 other Republican senators also voted against a an overall spending bill that included $13.6 billion of aid for Ukraine.
Rep. Dean Phillips is on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He was a guest on WCCO Sunday Morning.
"We have to do as much as humanly possible without setting up World War III," Phillips said. "That is a difficult tight rope to walk as many can understand, so we will be supplying as much material, equipment, support, humanitarian aide as humanly possible."
As the war shows no sign of ending any time soon, there will continue to be pressure on the Biden administration to do more, including more air support. The president has said he will continue his efforts to help Ukraine, but he says right now he will not do anything that could lead to sending American troops into harm's way.
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