On the recordFebruary 8, 2022
Energy security for the free world is an imperative. I rise today to strongly endorse President Biden's vow yesterday that if Russia further invades Ukraine, there will, ``no longer be a Nord Stream 2 pipeline across Europe. We will put an end to it.'' During the Trump administration, this Russian energy pipeline was allowed to creep ever closer into the heart of Europe to make our closest NATO allies dependent on Russian gas. What a strategic failure. Reliance on a tyrannical regime is dangerous. To our dear allies in Europe, if Putin were to succeed in clawing Ukraine back under Russia's command, he would not stop there. The free world must place stronger sanctions on Nord Stream 2. It must ratchet up diplomat engagement to this strongest test of the rule of law since World War II. As Russian troops amass at Ukraine's border, the free world must deploy the defensive shield to protect her liberty and assure her territorial sovereignty through a coalition of the willing. ____________________
