On the recordJuly 25, 2017
Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the distinguished ranking member, Mr. Engel. Mr. Speaker, today, this House comes together on a bipartisan basis to address sanctions and the rules on the girding sanctions for North Korea, Iran, and, most importantly perhaps, Russia. Importantly, because there has been a lot of doubt about whether this Congress would ever again speak eloquently and forcefully about Russian behavior. Today, we answer that question. Overwhelmingly, we say Russia's behavior is unacceptable in many ways, not least of which is the incursion of sovereign territory of its neighbors, specifically Georgia, Ukraine, including Crimea. I vote easily and enthusiastically for the resolution today, but it must not be construed, because it references the Minsk agreement, that that means that we don't mean to continue sanctions on the Crimean invasion. We do. Mr. Chabot and I, and I know the chairman and the ranking member of our committee, will continue to be vigilant on that until that illegal annexation is ended. Mr. Speaker, I commend the leadership for bringing this resolution to the floor, and I am proud today to be a Member of this body and speaking with one voice about Russian behavior and the need for sanctioning it. Mr. Speaker, this Congress does not trust the President of the United States to manage U.S.-Russia relations.…





