Political Quotes

“Mr. President, fellow citizens, I rise today to speak on behalf of the Cruz-Risch Nord Stream 2 bill, which is designated as S. 3436. To start with, it is important to note that this bill has language which is almost identical to the bipartisan language that was contained in the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act. Both bodies passed this language. It was, unfortunately, taken out in the conference of that bill before it went to the White House. But now, this language is back before us in this bill. And what it would do is it would immediately sanction Nord Stream 2--Putin's premier energy weapon against Europe and Ukraine, particularly. The timing could not be more important. Ukraine stands on the brink of invasion, and Europe is in the throes of an energy crisis created by Russia. There is a reason Ukraine's President Zelensky tweeted an urgent request in December for all friends of Ukraine and Europe in the U.S. Senate to back these sanctions. That request is before us at this moment. We are now seeing the consequences of the administration's decision to waive P.E.E.S.A. sanctions and the refusal to impose CAATSA sanctions. Months ago, the administration set the stage for this mess on Ukraine's border and emboldened Putin. Russia has deliberately cut gas transmission to Europe through Ukraine and is using high energy prices to pressure the European Union into approving Nord Stream 2 as quickly as possible. Putin has publicly stated that fact.…”