Political Quotes

“Mr. President, this Chamber is currently having a very important debate about our national security priorities, including the authorized funding levels for our Nation's Armed Forces. But I would like to speak just briefly about an element of our national security that is often overlooked, and that has to do with the interconnection between our energy resources here in America and global security. I will start by quoting the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, GEN Martin Dempsey, who said: ``I think we've got to pay more and particular attention to energy as an instrument of national power.'' Well, I could not agree, in this instance, with General Dempsey more. So I want to again address a way in which I believe the United States can utilize our vast domestic energy resources to not only enhance our economy but also help enhance our national security and help us meet our strategic objectives around the world and specifically by helping many of our NATO allies in Europe in this process. As I mentioned on the floor last week, many of these countries rely heavily on energy resources from Russia, creating strategic vulnerability for them as well as for the United States, their treaty ally. This is not a hypothetical matter because we know Vladimir Putin has literally turned the spigot off to countries like Ukraine and threatens to do so to Europe if they happen to disagree with Russian policy, particularly with regard to its expropriation of Crimea and Ukraine.…”