[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 5, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S28]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Foreign Policy

  Mr. President, now, on another matter, over the holidays, Russian 
President Vladimir Putin's insatiable and unreasonable demands only 
grew. So did Russia's threat to Ukraine, Europe, NATO, and our own 
interests. Putin cannot be allowed to use force or the threat of force 
to further erode Ukraine's territorial integrity. The West cannot be 
bullied into betraying our friends, forgetting our principles, or 
accepting a Russian sphere of influence.
  Freedom's friends will either stand up to the bully while we have a 
chance or we will rue the day we did not, whether in Europe, Asia, or 
elsewhere. If Putin walks away from this self-created crisis feeling 
emboldened, he and others will run the same play again and again and 
again.
  It is appropriate for the administration and our allies to seek to 
deescalate the situation, but not at the expense of deterrence and not 
by throwing our friends' security under the bus.
  And if we don't make sure our allies and partners have a seat at the 
table, they may well end up on the menu. For Putin, this is not just 
about Ukraine. This is about breaking NATO and Europe and restoring 
Russian domination of its neighbors.
  I support President Biden's stated desire to deter further Russian 
aggression against Ukraine. But--but--his administration must move 
faster to provide emergency military capabilities to help Ukraine 
defend themselves and deter attacks.
  Time is of the essence. Moving at the speed of bureaucracy is simply 
not going to cut it. Neither will waiting until Russia escalates, at 
which point, of course, it would be too late. Because this is not 
merely about Ukraine, President Biden must also work with NATO allies 
to reinforce our collective military position on the continent.
  We have to reassure our eastern flank NATO allies and deter any 
threats to the alliance by demonstrating that 30 nations are both 
willing and able to uphold article 5. The Russians have to believe 
that.
  The President, with bipartisan support, has threatened sanctions 
against Russia. European allies must show that they, too, will impose 
significant sanctions on Moscow for any additional aggression against 
Ukraine.
  Even if this crisis abates, the long-term threat from revisionist 
powers like Russia and China isn't going anywhere. These countries 
literally want to redraw world maps and rewrite international rules 
through force or the threat of force. So this is why the United States 
must be as serious about modernizing our military as our adversaries 
are about modernizing theirs.
  While the Biden administration talks a good game about competing with 
China, their first budget proposed to cut defense spending in real 
terms, especially significant given their runaway inflation. We cannot 
shirk on investing in our military.
  And our friends and allies must also pull their weight. NATO's 2 
percent pledge from 2014 is not sufficient for the threat we face in 
2022. But key NATO partners have still not met even that commitment.
  Europe must also reassess energy and environmental policies that have 
purchased a green veneer at the expense of more dependence on Russia 
and more leverage for Moscow. This should begin with abandoning the 
Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The United States, NATO, and all our partners 
can either act now or, believe me, we will live to regret it.