There must be more accountability for the billions of dollars that have already been allocated for Ukraine before Congress approves more, retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt told Newsmax Tuesday.
Holt was responding to a report that Gen. Mark Milley, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has told Congress the Pentagon will need more money for the war effort by June.
"OK, let's give more money, but let's put a hook on that and say, Show us where all the dollars have been spent," Holt, a Newsmax contributor and former deputy military advisor for NATO, said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "There is over $100 billion authorized for this event, and we've been spending up to $40 billion so far, so just go ahead and tell us where every nickel's gone, and then we'll go ahead and evaluate your need for more money and where that's going to go."
Congress in December allocated $45 billion toward Ukraine's war effort, expecting the money to last until this coming fall. The funds were part of the $1.66 trillion government funding package.
But Milley told congressional leaders last week that yet another appropriation will be needed by June to bolster Ukraine.
"What I'm really getting at and where the American people are, is there's too much opacity to this," said Holt. "There's too much we can't see. And if we could have transparency, we all want to support Ukraine.
"But then let us see how you're doing that and what the strategy is. Americans want transparency."
Meanwhile, Holt said it's "laughable" that the Biden administration is getting angry with China over whether it is supplying Russia with lethal weaponry to use against Ukraine when Beijing has already done so much against the United States' interests.
"China has done enough for us to reevaluate our relationship with them, whether it's balloons or fentanyl," said Holt.
Holt has also written an opinion piece for Newsmax concerning so-called "smart cities," and said Tuesday there is much to be concerned about in connection with the Inflation Reduction Act.
"They are pouring climate change dollars into this thing called Justice40, that gets to determine where over 40% of all climate dollars go in this nation," Holt said. "They make these investments into hooks that get communities on the hook for surveillance cameras, license plate readers, smart surveillance techniques, and they're not being used yet, but the infrastructure is being put into place … Cleveland wants to sign up for a program where you can only walk within 15 minutes of where you live.
"Do you want to do something else? Well, you better ask the government for that."
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
© 2023 Newsmax. All rights reserved.