Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the gentleman very much. Let me express my appreciation to the author of this bill, Mr. Kinzinger, and to the…”

“I thank the gentleman very much. Let me express my appreciation to the author of this bill, Mr. Kinzinger, and to the managers on the bill, as well as, in particular, to thank the ranking member, the chairman, and, of course, the manager today. Thank you for your leadership. I associate myself with Congressman Engel's remarks about leaving a space for affirmation of the Russian people but to make it very clear that we condemn the actions of Mr. Putin. Maybe calling him that is even too polite. Remember the days of Gorbachev when we understood that there was an open Russia, there was a Russia who was committed to working for world peace, standing on their own principles and values and history, not denying their strength, but yet working collaboratively in a civilized way. What happened to that Russia? What happened to the Russia that was supposed to be shown to the world during the Olympics? What happened to the Russia that believed in its great history and was prepared to stand alongside of all world leaders to make a better place? The taking over, the dominance, the literal invasion of Crimea was intolerable and an unacceptable action by a nation that calls itself ``standing civilized with other nations.'' The horrific tragedy of Malaysian Airlines and what many of us viewed around the world as we watched bodies being unattended and thugs not allowing persons to come and see to those bodies, how long they languished in those fields.…”