Two years ago, on December 13, 2014, the Ukraine Freedom Support Act (S 2828/ HR 5859) was passed by unanimous consent by the U.S. Senate, thus passing both houses of Congress after the hotline vote by the U.S. House of Representatives on December 11. President Barack Obama signed the bill into law on December 18.
A statement by the White House Office of the Press Secretary, noted:
“…Signing this legislation does not signal a change in the administration’s sanctions policy, which we have carefully calibrated in accordance with developments on the ground and coordinated with our allies and partners. At this time, the administration does not intend to impose sanctions under this law, but the act gives the administration additional authorities that could be utilized, if circumstances warranted. …We again call on Russia to end its occupation and attempted annexation of Crimea, cease support to separatists in eastern Ukraine, and implement the obligations it signed up to under the Minsk agreements. …We continue to call on Russia’s leadership to implement the Minsk agreements and to reach a lasting and comprehensive resolution to the conflict with respects Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The Ukrainian community was mobilized to vigorously advocate U.S. assistance to Ukraine by means of public demonstrations, meetings with legislators in Washington, phone calls, letters, e-mails and tweets. Among the events were the Ukrainian Days that were organized by the Ukrainian National Information Service (the Washington public-affairs bureau of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America), that brought Ukrainians to Washington to explain to their elected officials about the situation in Ukraine.
The community’s biggest supporter on Capitol Hill was the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.). Another major force in the passage of the Ukraine Freedom Support Act was the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives, which helped introduce HR 5190, the Ukraine Security Assistance Act, which had earmarked $100 million for security and military assistances to Ukraine.
Other factors that aided in the passage of the Ukraine Freedom Support Act were President Petro Poroshenko’s visit to Washington in September 2014. A rally held in front of the White House attracted thousands of Ukraine supporters and friends from other Central and East European communities who called on the United States to offer defensive weapons for Ukraine. At that time, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously voted in support of S 2828. Following mid-term elections, an analogous bill (HR 5782, later re-introduced as HR 5859) was introduced by Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) in the House of Representatives.
To supplement the work already done by the Ukrainian community, an Ad Hoc Committee for Ukraine worked in Washington to secure bipartisan support, and the creation of a Senate Task Force on Ukraine.
During the year leading up to the vote, Ukrainians had held multiple meetings with the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, citing the need for a military component of assistance to Ukraine. From these discussions, the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) also stipulated assistance for Ukraine.
“The NDAA expresses the sense of Congress that lethal and nonlethal assistance should be provided to Ukraine, and requires the secretary of defense to submit a report on such assistance that has been requested by and provided to Ukraine. The NDAA increases the budget for the Department of Defense ‘s Warsaw Initiative Fund/Partnership for Peace (WIF/PfP) program from $24.4 million to $34.4 million to enable U.S. European Command, through military exercises and defense reform efforts, to build the capacity of PfP militaries in order to promote regional stability and to deter Russian aggression… The NDAA authorizes the European Reassurance Initiative, including $75 million for programs, activities and assistance to support Ukraine.”
Source: “Congress passes Ukraine Freedom Support Act,” Ukrainian National Information Service, The Ukrainian Weekly, December 21, 2014.