Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my amendment that closes some loopholes on sanctions that we in the House put on Nord Stream 2 in December. It is a simple amendment. It extends sanctions to activities that are needed to finish the pipeline and companies that choose to insure the Russian ships that will likely do that work. These sanctions are necessary to ensure that the Russian Government isn't able to coerce our European friends by controlling their energy supply. We need to close these loopholes as soon as possible. Mr. Speaker, we know how Vladimir Putin operates like a two-bit gangster. He only knows corrupt power politics. And Nord Stream 2 is an attempt to increase leverage over Europe, a Europe that is and must remain whole and free. In addition to Putin's tendencies, we also know that Russia is a petrostate that really only has one industry, oil and gas. We know how Russia uses gas shipments as a power tactic. How could we forget that they coerced Ukraine with gas cutoffs just a few years ago? They have only gotten worse since then. Mr. Speaker, I know that some of our European friends oppose sanctions. They are trying to get cheaper energy for their people. I get that. But when Russians come bearing gifts, we should know better than to accept them at face value, not after Crimea, not after Georgia, not after assassinating people all across Europe, sponsoring coups, and attacking our elections. Now is not the time to be letting the Russians off the hook.…”