Tom Rice: “I thank Mr. Brady, Mr. Neal, and Mr. Doggett for their leadership on this bill to sanction Russian energy exports, which…”

“I thank Mr. Brady, Mr. Neal, and Mr. Doggett for their leadership on this bill to sanction Russian energy exports, which I support, but I must express my frustration that this bill does not go far enough. {time} 1945 On February 7, President Biden stated that if Russia invaded Ukraine, the United States would impose crippling sanctions. Yet, here we are, 2 weeks after Biden finally found the courage to call it an invasion, and the sanctions are still being rolled out piecemeal. Only last week, the administration was telling us that sanctioning Russian oil and gas imports was not on the table. In the face of inaction, Democrats and Republicans in Congress came together to impose the crippling sanctions the President had promised but not followed through on. The bipartisan bill would have banned Russian oil imports and enabled the imposition of tariffs on all remaining Russian imports to America. But the White House intervened, and my Democrat friends withdrew their support. Instead, this bill bans only oil. The remaining half of Russian trade remains. American purchases will keep funding Russia's cruel invasion, and Russia will keep its most-favored-nation status in the World Trade Organization. In this bill, we ask our allies to penalize Russian imports, but we refuse to do so ourselves. Now, that is not leadership. I cannot understand why America would maintain trade relations with a nation that only last night bombed a children's hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine.…”