As if we needed any more concerns with this Department of Defense (DoD), the Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh revealed during a Tuesday press conference that Ukraine will be provided with an extra $6.2 billion.
Before taking questions, Singh revealed that "during the department's regular oversight of our execution of presidential drawdown authority for Ukraine, we discovered inconsistencies in equipment valuation for Ukraine." In what Singh said were "a significant number of cases, services used replacement costs rather than net book value, thereby overestimating the value of the equipment drawn down from U.S. stocks and provided to Ukraine."
The "final calculation" for FY '23 is $3.6 billion and $2.6 billion for FY '22, bringing that combined total to $6.2 billion.
"These valuation errors," Singh claimed, "in no way limit or restricted the size of any of our PDAs or impacted the provision of support to Ukraine, and while the DOD--while the DOD retains the authority to utilize the recaptured PDA, this has no bearing on appropriated USAI or Ukraine PDA replenishment funding approved by Congress," referring to Presidential Drawdown Authority.
BREAKING: 'Accounting error' provides extra $6.2 BILLION for Ukraine, Pentagon says pic.twitter.com/75022IXg9k
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 20, 2023
Singh also addressed the funds while taking questions, although her responses were unhelpfully a little less than thorough. Since the $6.2 billion is PDA, the deputy press secretary confirmed "we wouldn't have it broken down," and when asked where it's now being spent, "It would just be money that's reallocated into presidential drawdown packages," she offered.
She also said she would not be able to check for "specific line items that they're going to use the money for." As she explained, "It's another pot of money that we have access to, so when we have our next presidential drawdown package to roll out, it's not like we're going to have, like, allocated here, this is $6 billion that we, you know, have found through our reevaluation. Singh added that "it's just going to go back into the pot of money that we have allocated for the PDAs, and we will roll out the next package when we have that announcement."
The Associated Press has more about the totals, pointing out the $6.2 billion is "about double early estimates." As the report also mentioned:
The U.S. has approved four rounds of aid to Ukraine in response to Russia’s invasion, totaling about $113 billion, with some of that money going toward replenishment of U.S. military equipment that was sent to the frontlines. Congress approved the latest round of aid in December, totaling roughly $45 billion for Ukraine and NATO allies. While the package was designed to last through the end of the fiscal year in September, much depends upon events on the ground, particularly as the new counteroffensive ramps up.
President Joe Biden and his senior national security leaders have repeatedly stated that the United States will help Ukraine “as long as it takes” to repel the Russian forces. Privately, administration officials have warned Ukrainian officials that there is a limit to the patience of a narrowly divided Congress — and American public — for the costs of a war with no clear end.
Members of Congress have repeatedly pressed Defense Department leaders on how closely the U.S. is tracking its aid to Ukraine to ensure that it is not subject to fraud or ending up in the wrong hands. The Pentagon has said it has a “robust program” to track the aid as it crosses the border into Ukraine and to keep tabs on it once it is there, depending on the sensitivity of each weapons system.
When it comes to congressional oversight, Sen. Josh Hawley called out his fellow senators and pointed to the need for "an independent watchdog for Ukraine funding" as he tweeted out coverage from The Daily Wire.
$6.2 BILLION dollar error! And yet the Senate won’t vote for an independent watchdog for Ukraine funding. Almost like Senators don’t want to know … https://t.co/R5rtJja2gR
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) June 21, 2023
Many also took to Twitter, as our friends at Twitchy pointed out, to highlight the hypocrisy of what the DoD is allowed to get away with, but the American taxpayer certainly is not. That is unless your name is Hunter Biden.
Biden hired 87,000 new armed IRS agents yet it’s the Pentagon that made an “accounting error” that gives $6.2 billion extra to Ukraine.
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) June 20, 2023
The US Government is run by imbeciles.
If I had a $62 accounting error on my tax return, they'd haul my ass off to jail.
— Lavern Spicer 🇺🇸 (@lavern_spicer) June 20, 2023
Hunter Biden didn't report $3,000,000 and no one cares. They let his ass off!
The Pentagon just lost $6.2 billion and accidentally sent it to Ukraine.
This whole system need to be overhauled!!!!
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