Most of ‘Ukraine aid’ never leaves US — report:
Most of the U.S. military aid funding intended for Ukraine is being spent inside the United States, according to a Nov. 29 piece in The Washington Post.
Of the $68 billion in funds the U.S. Congress approved for Ukraine to date, about 90% is spent on contracts with U.S. contractors. This funding is utilized to produce new weapons, or the replacement of weapons sent from U.S. stockpiles.
Research also indicates that many of Ukraine's primary weapon systems are being manufactured in the United States, across 117 production lines in 31 states and 71 cities.
Moreover, 31 U.S. representatives, whose districts benefit most from the Ukrainian funding, voted against or for limiting the aid.
Earlier on Nov. 29, the White House highlighted the advantages that various U.S. states have gained from the military assistance to Ukraine, hoping to bolster support among Republicans who opposed continuing military assistance to Kyiv. --->READ MORE HERE
Despite Republican hesitance on Ukraine aid, red states reap economic benefits:
Amid signs of a growing reluctance among U.S. Republicans to continue aid for Ukraine, proponents have been trying a new narrative – highlighting that a considerable amount of the money the U.S. spends actually goes toward the domestic defense industry, funneling jobs and investments back to the U.S.
A recent op-ed by Marc Thiessen, a fellow at the center-right think tank, the American Enterprise Institute, argued that it is "the best-kept secret" of the entire $68 billion U.S. endeavor to support Ukraine.
Citing one analyst, he said that as much as 90% of the money allocated by the U.S. for military aid for Ukraine has been spent domestically.
Thiessen and some of his colleagues from the American Enterprise Institute worked on a project to map where in the U.S. these funds have gone. In total, 31 states are producing weapons or military equipment for Ukraine, using money earmarked by Congress.
The U.S. Defense Department (DoD) has also weighed in, sharing its own infographics that illustrate the extent of the economic benefits of the revived domestic defense industry.
Although the DoD's estimates are not as striking as the unnamed analyst cited by Thiessen, they still show that the U.S. has received more than $27 billion in investments from Washington's military aid for Ukraine.
In addition, the funds have also provided $3.3 billion in direct industrial investments to improve the capacity of the domestic defense industry across the U.S.
"Across the board, the response of our U.S. industrial base to meet Ukraine's defense needs has been truly historic," said William LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment.
Weapons for Ukraine, American jobs
A total estimate of the jobs created has not been made public, but a few examples are illustrative of the economic boon that the U.S.'s military aid for Ukraine has created at home.
Lockheed Martin, which produces the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) prized by the Ukrainian military, received a contract from the Pentagon worth nearly $500 million in late 2022 to keep manufacturing the systems.
Local officials in Camden, Arkansas, where one of Lockheed's factories is located, saw the announcement as a significant economic opportunity for the town.
The state's Chamber of Commerce estimated that perhaps as many as 1,000 new jobs would be created as a result of the new contracts from Lockheed and other defense companies operating in Ouachita County, of which Camden is the county seat.
As the defense industry has grown, it has helped revitalize the town, which had been economically stagnating since other industries left. It was not the first time Camden saw growth from defense jobs- some 25,000 workers came to the town after a naval plant was opened there in 1944.
"Retail jobs follow manufacturing jobs, so the more manufacturing jobs that you have in a community, (the more) retail will soon follow," said Ouachita Partnership for Economic Development's executive director, James Lee Silliman. --->LOTS MORE HERE
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