Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Joe Manchin
Washington, DC – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, questioned U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin, U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo. Senator Manchin questioned the witnesses on the Administration condoning continued U.S. reliance on Chinese supply chains for electric vehicles (EVs) and on continuing to support Ukraine against Putin’s invasion.
On the Administration condoning continued U.S. reliance on Chinese supply chains for electric vehicles:
“I have my differences with the Administration on the speed at which they’re trying to put electric vehicles on the market because we can’t supply the amount of support that they need. We don’t have access to all the critical minerals, we don’t have the processing power, we don’t have the anodes and cathodes. But they’re determined to be reliant on China for that, and I have tremendous concerns there,” Senator Manchin said in part.
On continuing to support Ukraine against Putin’s invasion:
“Whether it be the ships, the missiles, the guns, the bullets or everything else we are providing for Ukraine, I’ve been thinking about the one thing that makes us different – it’s that our allies trust us and believe in us. It’s the compassion for humanity that we have,” Senator Manchin continued. “This is money well-invested. We’re not spending it, we’re investing it…We can’t change the values of other countries who don’t share ours – the love of family, of religious freedoms, of democracy. In my lifetime, this is the most just cause I’ve ever seen. Exactly where the United States should be, that light on the mountain saying that we will defend democracy wherever people seek it. And we will make sure we don’t leave them – we’ve got to be committed to our allies.”
A timeline of Senator Manchin’s work to support Ukraine against Putin’s invasion is available here.
A video of Senator Manchin’s questioning of the witnesses can be found here.