An Open Letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson from the Ukraine Freedom Project
The Honorable Mike Johnson
Speaker House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Speaker Johnson,
We, the undersigned, thank you for scheduling a vote to fund key national security interests overseas. We recognize the political peril this decision carries and are deeply grateful for your determination to put the interests of our country’s national security ahead of political expediency.
There is a cacophony of misguided narratives being advanced from across the political spectrum. Our allies deserve the certain and stalwart support that comes from partnering with the greatest country the world has ever known. We must do better than equivocating on allowing Ukraine the weapons and tactics required to win, accepting—or not refuting—Russian propaganda, or even siding with Islamic extremists. These dangerous mindsets have all too often infiltrated the political conversation from politically diverse voices, and the security of our country is threatened by them. Your call for America to reemerge as the country that defends freedom and confronts tyranny is a clarion one for our time. This is not a debate of American security versus international security, but rather one of confronting threats to American security wherever they rear their evil head.
It is clear that Russia, Iran, China and North Korea are working together to cause chaos in Israel, Ukraine, and around the world. North Korea and Iran are sending weapons to Russia, while Russia is testing and perfecting Iranian drones used against Israel. The first place Hamas leaders turned to for support after October 7 was Moscow, and Iran has long been the financial sponsor of Hamas. These forces of evil are not only attacking our friends and allies, they are attacking America itself through our allies. Further, they are counting on our internal political divisions to provide the distraction that allows them to get away with it.
We must ensure that calculation proves woefully misguided. Now is the time to acknowledge that our freedom to engage in robust debate—and even dissent—hinges on our courage to stand together against our common threats. The world needs America now more than ever to unite our allies and defend our friends who are under direct attack from our enemies.
American support has already made a profound impact. The aid we have sent so far – about 2.5 percent of the annual Pentagon budget – has cut Putin’s warfighting capability in half and put Ukraine in control of all but 17 percent of their country. To say that is a return on investment only realized by Ukraine is willful blindness; America is far more secure when Putin’s land lust is firmly resisted, and when Israel’s military is empowered to destroy the threat posed by the Russian-backed and Iranian sponsored proxy Hamas.
It truly is a choice between supporting our allies to ensure victory or risk being drawn into a larger scale war that, as you say, will draw in American troops.
This package of bills sends a message of strength to both our allies and our adversaries. It also gives hope to the millions of Christians currently being subjugated by the Russians in occupied Ukraine. As you know, Ukrainian Protestants are being disproportionately targeted by the Russians. Evangelical pastors who have survived report being tortured with electricity and beaten with baseball bats while Russian Orthodox priests look on. Far too many have been tortured to death just for their Christian faith.
Some will continue to say this funding is about international security. Saying something does not make it so.
The threats currently facing our allies are a threat to America itself, and we must meet the moment. The price of failing to do so is unspeakable high. We are grateful for your courageous leadership, we pledge our strong support for the package of bills that would fund and support our allies, and we fervently encourage leaders from both parties to come together in defense of American security that is under attack all around the world.
Sincerely,
Steven E. Moore
Founder, Ukraine Freedom Project
Karl E. Ahlgren
VP Public Policy, Ukraine Freedom Project
Saulius "Saul" Anuzis
President, 60 Plus Association; Former Chairman, Michigan Republican Party
Charles Bass
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Joseph Bosco
U.S. Department of Defense, Retired
Sam Brownback
Former US Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom (2018-2021)
Brian J. Cavanaugh
Senior Vice President, American Global Strategies
Barbara Comstock
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Carlos Curbelo
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Lisa Curtis
Former Deputy Assistant to the President and NSC Senior Director for South and Central Asia
Daniel Darling
Director, Land Center for Cultural Engagement; Columnist, World Magazine; Contributor to USA Today
Geoff Davis
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Tom Davis
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Charlie Dent
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Dave Donaldson
CEO, CityServe
Erick Erickson
Host, The Erick Erickson Show
John Faso
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Doug Fears
Former Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor to the President
Carrie Filipetti
Executive Director, The Vandenberg Coalition; Former Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of State
Rodney Frelinghuysen
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Lisa Gable
Former US Ambassador
Chris Gates
International Development Consultant
Emilio T. Gonzalez, PhD
Former Director USCIS, Department of Homeland Security; Former Director, Western Hemisphere Affairs, National Security Council
James Greenwood
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Lauren B. Homer
President, Law and Liberty Trust
William Inboden
Former Senior Director, National Security Council
Ken Isaacs
Vice President, Programs & Government Relations, Samaritan's Purse
Lynn Jenkins
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
John Katko
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Adam Kinzinger
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Ray LaHood
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Leonard Lance
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Mary Beth Long
Former Chair of NATO's High Level Group; Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
Sarah E. Makin
Former Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Strategic Initiatives, U.S. National Security Council
Gary Marx
President, Defenders of Faith & Religious Freedom in Ukraine
Clifford D. May
Founder and President, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Heath Mayo
Founder, Principles First
John M. McHugh
Former Secretary of the Army; Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Patrick Meehan
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Dan Miller
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Susan Molinari
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Johnnie Moore
President, Congress of Christian Leaders
Heather Nauert
Former State Department Spokesperson; Acting Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
Rich Outzen
Vandenberg Coalition Advisory Board Member
Erik Paulsen
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Bill Paxon
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
James P. Pinkerton
Author
Alex Plitsas
Senior Non-Resident Fellow, Atlantic Council; Former Chief of Sensitive Activities in the Office of
the Secretary of Defense; Board Member, Special Operations Association of America
Deborah Pryce
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Jack Quinn
Senior Advisor for Public and Community Relations, Barclay Damon, LLP; Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Martha Roby
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Phil Roe
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Tom Rooney
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Peter J. Roskam
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Daniel Runde
Board Member of the Western NIS Enterprise Fund
Nathan Sales
Former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights (acting)
Rick Santorum
Former U.S. Senator; President, Patriot Voices
Randy Scheunemann
Halifax International Security Forum
Robert F. Schwarzwalder, Jr., Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer, Honors College, Regent University; Former Chief of Staff; Presidential Appointee, George W. Bush Administration
Christopher Shays
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
David R. Shedd
Former Acting Director, Defense Intelligence Agency
John Shimkus
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Thomas Spoehr
Lieutenant General, US Army, Retired
John J. Sullivan
Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and Former U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation
Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett
President, Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice
Pat Tiberi
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Dave Trott
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Fred Upton
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Mimi Walters
Former Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Robert Wilkie
Secretary Department of Veterans Affairs 2018- 2021; Under Secretary of Defense 2017-2018
