Biden national security adviser pressed on $3 billion error in Ukraine aid: ‘Hell of an accounting error’
National security adviser Jake Sullivan defended the Pentagon Sunday after it was revealed that the agency made at least a $3 billion accounting error.
FIRST ON FOX: GOP lawmakers sent a letter to national security adviser Jake Sullivan Monday urging him to provide more precise numbers regarding aid to Ukraine.
Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, along with Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said the letter – first obtained by Fox News Digital – comes following a White House briefing last week when Sullivan stated that the Biden administration had sent around $79.9 billion in aid to Ukraine since the war started in February 2022.
However, a week earlier, the White House Office of Management and Budget gave Vance’s office a chart showing at least $101 billion spent, with plans for additional spending.
The group of lawmakers – who have been vocal critics of aid to Ukraine – want the $31.1 billion discrepancy between his statement and OMB's data cleared up.
WHITE HOUSE REQUESTS SIX TIMES MORE SPENDING FOR UKRAINE THAN BORDER AND FENTANYL CRISIS
Sen. JD Vance attends a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing on Feb. 9, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
"We write to provide you the opportunity to clarify your remarks and communicate clearly the total budgetary resources across all government departments provided for the war in Ukraine and ‘in countries impacted by the situation in Ukraine,’ as well as any other expenditures made by the U.S. taxpayer in connection to the conflict," they wrote.
The letter also seeks clarification on funding sources, possible reprogrammings from base funds that increased the overall expenditure, and the inclusion of additional funds found in the Pentagon's coffers.
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Rep. Matt Gaetz speaks after House Republicans met to choose their party leaders at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 15, 2022. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
GOP LEADERS RAIL AGAINST BIDEN'S $24 BILLION REQUEST TO AID UKRAINE, SAY IT 'DESERVES SCRUTINY'
Lawmakers also cited a news report which found that if the government shuts down, funding for weapon shipments to Ukraine from the Department of Defense's stockpiles would continue, with $6.2 billion in aid available. This amount, not included in the OMB spreadsheet, further complicates the total figure of assistance provided, they said.
"The administration stated on August 10 that '[p]revious supplemental appropriations for direct military aid, economic and humanitarian assistance, and other support have been committed or nearly committed,’ yet somehow there are more funds available for the war in Ukraine," the letter stated.
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Rep. Chip Roy speaks during a news conference with the House Freedom Caucus on the debt limit negotiations at the U.S. Capitol on March 10, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
In May, the Pentagon overvalued the amount of ammunition, missiles and other military equipment it sent to Ukraine by an estimated $3 billion. Since then, a chorus of mostly GOP lawmakers have called for oversight on funds sent to the eastern European country.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Sullivan for comment.
