Ed Royce: “I would like to begin by thanking the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Keating) for his work on this resolution, as…”

“I would like to begin by thanking the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Keating) for his work on this resolution, as well as our ranking member of the committee, Eliot Engel of New York, and also recognize the long, hard work that Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur of Ohio and Mr. Gerlach of Pennsylvania have put into their engagement on this issue with Ukraine. I would also add that, if we do not recognize that Russia is using energy as a weapon, we are missing what is really going on in Eastern Europe and Central Europe. It was, in part, Ukraine's reliance on Russia's energy that pushed the now-deposed Ukraine President Yanukovych to abandon the trade deal with the European Union. {time} 1630 It was that attempt to pressure him, and he was tempted by promises of discounts on natural gas. He was pressured by the threat of turning off the valve on that gas. He was pressured to turn toward Russia instead of to the European Union. We believe that Ukraine should have the right to trade with Russia and with the European Union--to trade east and west and north to Poland and south to Moldova. This should be the decision of the Ukrainian people. I believe the administration must do far more to isolate Russia diplomatically than it has to date and that the Treasury Department should also make clear that the U.S.…”