Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for the purpose of closing. This is a good, strong, bipartisan bill to support Georgia as it fends off Russian aggression. I thank my Foreign Affairs Committee colleagues, Mr. Connolly and Mr. Kinzinger, for their work on this measure. If you look back at history when the Soviet Union existed, Georgia was part of the Soviet Union and really felt the yoke of Russian aggression on their necks. When the Soviet Union broke up and Russia tried to influence all the surrounding countries, Georgia resisted with good cause, because Georgia does not want to be part of a country that makes them subservient. So it really to me is so important for the United States to support Georgia. It is in a difficult neighborhood, right near Russia. It faces constant threats every day. As I and my colleagues have said, Russia is now occupying a large part of their territory, and it really should not be left to stand. Personally, I have said this many times, I think that the West made a mistake back in 2008 when Georgia tried to become part of NATO and was turned down. I believe that both Georgia and Ukraine should be part of NATO. I think that is very important. And I think that is part of the reason why we see such Russian aggression in both Ukraine and Georgia. So I hope all Members will join us in supporting the passage of this bill.…”