On the recordSeptember 17, 2014
Not too long ago--several years ago-- several of us walked into this very, very historic room. The President of Ukraine at that time was President Yushchenko. A lot has happened since that ``Orange Revolution.'' A lot has happened to Ukraine. We see in Ukraine a democratically elected Mr. Poroshenko, who will be here tomorrow, walking down the same aisle in a very, very different political environment. I rise in support of House Resolution 726, supporting the right of the people of Ukraine to freely determine their future. That is what this resolution is all about. We must make clear our position that Russia's actions over the past year to intimidate and bring violence and death to the people of Ukraine, as well as the victims of Malaysia Flight 17--lest we forget--is behavior that is unacceptable to the entire international community. Ukraine is a sovereign nation. That either means something or it doesn't. It has borders. It has a democratically-elected government. It has the right to govern itself as it sees fit. Mr. Putin doesn't understand the concept of a sovereign nation. It is like he is living in a time before Westphalia. When the people of Ukraine decided they wanted to further integrate with Europe, he sent an army to invade. That was his answer. My congressional district in northern New Jersey is home to many Ukrainian Americans. They are proud American citizens. They are proud of where they came from.…
