Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Illinois for managing the bill. It is also good to be on this House floor again talking on an issue that we share in common, and that is the importance of sanctions being successful as a part of our strategy to get Mr. Putin out of Ukraine. So it has been very good to partner with my friend from California (Mr. Sherman) on H.R. 7066, the Russia and Belarus Financial Sanctions Act. Madam Speaker, U.S. financial institutions are already prohibited from engaging in transactions with sanctioned Russian entities, but H.R. 7066 extends that prohibition to entities owned or controlled by U.S. financial institutions as well. This is a commonsense provision, and it has helped other sanctions programs be more successful, and I cite particularly the efforts to isolate Iran and North Korea. Under the President's ongoing Russia measures, anyone providing support to a sanctioned person runs the risk of being sanctioned themselves. We know that U.S. financial institutions are fully aware of us. Congress expects their full compliance and to be watchful on their affiliates that may also do business with Russia. As the U.S. continues to pressure the Putin regime, we must seek and prevent opportunities for Russia to find loopholes for non-U.S. financial institutions. I am glad to see that our current sanctions on Russia are making it more difficult for Moscow to find alternatives to Western banks.…”