On the recordJuly 14, 2015
Ladies and gentlemen of the House, we ought not bet against Ukraine and Georgia. I recently returned from a bipartisan delegation of the House Democracy Partnership that visited Ukraine and Georgia over the Fourth of July recess. Our purpose was to reflect this body to those parliamentary bodies in Ukraine and Georgia. I--and I know the other members of the House Democracy Partnership-- came away with a feeling of encouragement and a feeling of gratitude for the tenacity and very seriousness with which the Ukrainians and the Georgians are pursuing freedom. These are two nations that desperately want to be in the orbit of the West. They desperately want to be a part of the EU; they desperately want to be a part of NATO, and they are doing everything they can to stiff-arm and push back from the aggression of Vladimir Putin. They need our help; they need our encouragement, and they need our support. It is said that there are some who look at this as the front line of the rising voices against authoritarianism, and I think that is true. We have got to do everything we can in this body not only to provide the economic support and other support that these countries need, but also to do everything we can to push the administration to do the right thing as well. ____________________
