Maloy Recounts Recent Trip To Ukraine

Congresswoman Celeste Maloy joined us on the radio recently to talk about what she
has been doing during the August recess. One thing that she did during the break was
make a trip to Ukraine, where she was able to see firsthand how the resources being
furnished by the United States are being used.

So how did the trip come about? “I got invited to go to Ukraine during August recess
because, well, I assume because they know that I did not vote for the Ukraine
supplemental. But I've said over and over we need to support Ukraine,” Maloy told us
and continued, “And so one of the groups that works with Ukraine invited me and other
members of Congress to go spend a week there, see what they're doing on the ground
and see how they're accounting for the resources we've sent them.”
Maloy spent several days in the country because of not traveling with a group directed
by the State Department. In those cases, Maloy says you must take a ten-hour train ride
into the country, spend about eight hours there, and then another ten-hour train trip
back out.

Maloy mentioned part of the reason why she voted against the most recent Ukraine
supplemental package. “I don't like sending them cash. I I don't think they've been very
good at accounting to us for what they're doing with the money we've sent them.”
Maloy then went on to tell us what it was like to be in the war-torn country. “It was an
education for me. Every night the sirens went off in the middle of the night and we'd
have to get up and go down into the shelter underground because there were missiles
overhead. Sometimes they weren't that close. One night they were right over the top of
us.”
Maloy was impressed by what she saw of the people of Ukraine. “Watching the
Ukrainian people and how determined they are to be independent. I mean, Ukraine only
became independent of Russia in 1991.”

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The congresswoman said she was also able to get answers to some of the questions
she had about our resources being sent to Ukraine. “I got to ask hard questions of our
embassy of the Ukrainian Government of, you know, their outside auditing groups about
how they're accounting for the resources we're sending them. And that was really
helpful. There's just nothing like being on the ground and seeing things with your own
(eyes).”

Will what Maloy saw in Ukraine change her vote the next time an appropriations bill
comes to congress? “That's where it gets tricky. I don't know how likely I am to support
sending them more aid. I actually still feel about the way I did before about sending
them cash. I feel better about sending them weapons, but not so much cash, although I
will say they're doing a much better job than I thought they were of accounting.”
Maloy also discussed other legislation she is involved with and mentioned some of the
bills she was working on to benefit her constituents in Utah. You can hear our entire
discussion with Congresswoman Maloy in the podcast below.