Political Quotes

“Madam President, I come to the floor today to speak in opposition to S. 3436, which is the Nord Stream 2's sanctions bill sponsored by Senator Cruz. I certainly share the concerns that have been expressed just a few minutes ago by Senator McConnell about the threat that Russia poses to Ukraine and to Eastern Europe and the role that Nord Stream 2 plays in that critical issue. I have been a strong and longstanding opponent of Nord Stream 2. I believe now what I believed at the time that I originally cosponsored the Nord Stream 2 sanctions bill with Senator Cruz; that the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline is a long-term threat to the energy security of Europe. But right now we are in a different place on this, and while Senator Cruz and I worked together on sanctions legislation to stop this pipeline, my disagreement now with Senator Cruz is in his approach to what we need to do to address what is right now a much more serious threat to Europe, to NATO, to the transatlantic alliance, and that is Russia's threat against Ukraine. And what Senator Cruz's bill would do is not stop Nord Stream 2; it would undermine the current diplomatic situation that is absolutely critical if we are going to respond to the Russian threat. His bill is a vote--supporting his bill would be a vote to compromise the transatlantic community.…”