Waltz Presses DOD Over ‘Burden-Sharing’

Florida Rep. Mike Waltz (R) continues to push back on “burden-sharing” amidst the Russian and Ukrainian war. Last month, he raised the alarm during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Fiscal year 2024 budget.

This week, Rep. Waltz continues to question DOD officials over the United States’ financial input.

During the House Armed Services Committee hearing on U.S. Military Posture and National Security Challenges in Europe, Rep. Waltz questioned the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Celeste Wallander.

His arguments question “the burden-sharing, or lack thereof, between the United States allies in regard to military aid for Ukraine” according to a press release from his office.

In last month’s hearing, Waltz asked, “when the American people see the disparity in how much the United States is providing and then how much large economies like forty-six billion versus Germany’s two-and-a-half billion versus Italy’s seven-hundred million, less than a billion, what are we doing to actually have burden-sharing with our European allies?”

While questioning Wallander, Waltz assured that “the American people are sick and tired of this.”

“If I had a hundred dollars for every speech that a defense secretary has written in the last twenty years begging our European allies to step up, I would very a very rick man, but they have not” Waltz lamented, adding that “the United States has subsidized European security and social programs for the last twenty years.”

Waltz questioned when the disparity would end, asking when European allies will step up and what the consequences would be if they don’t.

“We have been pushing for decades across multiple administrations and sending strongly worded memos over tea and crumpets in Europe and it is not getting the job done,” Waltz argued.

During the hearing, Waltz utilized a poster that depicted the largest donors of military aid to Ukraine by country, emphasizing the need for European allies to contribute more.