Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 496, the Ukraine Religious Freedom Support Act, and thank my committee colleague and friend, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson), for introducing it. As we speak here in this Chamber, Russian forces are ravaging Ukrainian cities and towns. They are committing unspeakable atrocities and war crimes against innocent civilians and continuing to wage an unprovoked and unjustified war. The world cannot and will not overlook or forget Russia's heinous acts of aggression, nor the war crimes and other human rights violations it is committing. But, sadly, Russia's human rights violations against Ukrainian civilians and on sovereign Ukrainian territory started well before February of this year. Ever since Russia illegally attempted to annex Crimea and backed the separatists in the Donbas region, Russia and Russian-backed forces, as well as the so-called authorities in those regions, have demonstrated a complete disregard for human rights, including the rights of Ukrainians and others to practice their religions freely. That is why H.R. 496 is so critically important. We must hold accountable those Russians and Russian-backed individuals responsible for committing severe violations of religious freedom on Ukrainian sovereign territory.…”