Chris Smith: “I would like to rise in very strong support of the gentleman's amendment. The need for various types of aid to the…”

“I would like to rise in very strong support of the gentleman's amendment. The need for various types of aid to the Ukraine cannot be underestimated. Last year, as chairman of the Helsinki Commission, we held a hearing on the ongoing crisis in Chernobyl. The G-7 has pledged a tremendous amount of aid to shut down the reactor and to encase it in a way that will make it less dangerous than it is currently, and very little of that money has been produced over the last couple of years. We also heard of the devastating impact of the cancers that are being suffered by children as a result of contamination from the nuclear fallout, and they cannot even begin to cope with the humanitarian medical and hospital needs in the Ukraine that should have been to that Chernobyl disaster. As the gentleman pointed out, they have been forthcoming when it comes to NATO. As partners, as friends, they have embraced NATO. They have unilaterally forfeited the nuclear warheads on their own soil. That is a grand gesture of peace in my view, especially given the potential animosities between themselves and Russia which we all know exists today. So I believe while there are problems, as is acknowledged in this resolution, dealing with corruption and it is insisted in this resolution that our economic interests be treated fairly, I think the resolution is a good one and deserves the support, and I would urge my colleagues to support this amendment.”