[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 109 (Tuesday, July 14, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H5119]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE AND GEORGIA
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Roskam) for 5 minutes.
Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Speaker, ladies and gentlemen of the House, we ought
not bet against Ukraine and Georgia.
I recently returned from a bipartisan delegation of the House
Democracy Partnership that visited Ukraine and Georgia over the Fourth
of July recess. Our purpose was to reflect this body to those
parliamentary bodies in Ukraine and Georgia.
I--and I know the other members of the House Democracy Partnership--
came away with a feeling of encouragement and a feeling of gratitude
for the tenacity and very seriousness with which the Ukrainians and the
Georgians are pursuing freedom.
These are two nations that desperately want to be in the orbit of the
West. They desperately want to be a part of the EU; they desperately
want to be a part of NATO, and they are doing everything they can to
stiff-arm and push back from the aggression of Vladimir Putin. They
need our help; they need our encouragement, and they need our support.
It is said that there are some who look at this as the front line of
the rising voices against authoritarianism, and I think that is true.
We have got to do everything we can in this body not only to provide
the economic support and other support that these countries need, but
also to do everything we can to push the administration to do the right
thing as well.
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