On the recordMarch 1, 2022
I rise today to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and in a moment, I am going to ask unanimous consent to pass some legislation which has been kicking around here for a while and is way overdue. What we have witnessed over the past 5 days is a flagrant act of unprovoked aggression perpetrated by Russia against Ukraine. The world we are living in today is different from the one we lived in last week. For months, I, along with my Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle, have watched the conflict inch closer and closer. The intelligence community provided accurate and clear information on the situation, and for this, I commend them. I also commend them for releasing the vast majority, if not all of the information they had in an attempt to deter Putin. That didn't work. However, there is no question, we should have taken action sooner rather than later, and it is time to do so now in a much more aggressive fashion. In preparation for this invasion, many of my Senate colleagues and I drafted hard-hitting sanctions and called repeatedly for more lethal assistance for months. We used all leverage at our disposal to pressure the administration to take sufficient action, but despite our actions, our efforts, it didn't happen.…





