[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 9, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H1108-H1111]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
UKRAINE: THE SCRIMMAGE LINE FOR LIBERTY IN EUROPE
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 4, 2021, the Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms.
Kaptur) for 30 minutes.
General Leave
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include
extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Ohio?
There was no objection.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as co-chair of the 50-member
bipartisan Congressional Ukraine Caucus to voice our strong support for
Ukraine and her people.
Ukraine is the scrimmage line for liberty on the European continent--
our very closest allies. Right now, the world is watching with growing
alarm as Russia again beats the Kremlin's drums of war.
Vladimir Putin, with his thirst for force over reason and the rule of
law, is severely isolated from the norms of human decency and the
global community. Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014. Fourteen thousand
people have been killed. While Ukraine is Putin's most immediate
target, it certainly is not the only one he has his eyes on. As we have
watched, Russia has taken pieces of Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and the
message is clear.
Thirty years ago, the people of Ukraine voted by more than 90 percent
to establish their independence. Ukraine was a signatory to the
Budapest Memorandum in which the West guaranteed Ukraine's security in
return for all nuclear weapons staged on its territory be removed.
Will the West keep its promise?
For decades, the Soviet Union held Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Moldova, and so many others under its iron fist suppressing
any notion of freedom. We have a map here that clearly shows how small
Ukraine is compared to the vast Russian Empire. We are not talking
about equal partners here.
In 1991 the world rejoiced when, at long last, the Communist Iron
Curtain fell--a moment the free world did not expect to see in modern
time. Upon its fall, liberty and opportunity, which once had only been
dreams, now became new possibilities in Ukraine. Over these last 30
years, Ukraine has struggled to cast off Russian interference and grow
into a strong, proud, and vibrant nation. It has been a struggle every
day of every year.
Having visited Ukraine more than any other Member of Congress, I know
her people, her communities, her culture, and her struggle. In 2014 I
joined then-Vice President Joe Biden and Senator John McCain to attend
the inauguration of a new President of Ukraine. As our delegation
walked down the streets of the capital city, I can guarantee you, Mr.
Speaker, the applause and cheers that rang forth from the crowd as
America walked down the street was absolutely unforgettable and
astounding. Ukraine's freedom-loving people were exclaiming their love
and friendship with the United States, but, most of all, with the idea
of liberty. Liberty. It is a memory that I cherish and will never
forget.
The people of Ukraine, yes, they have hopes and dreams, and they want
to live with safety, stability, and enduring prosperity, but, most of
all, with liberty. Those hopes and dreams face constant threat by
Russia. It seems to never stop. Ukraine has no desire to have its back
broken under Russia's repressive command.
In 2014 Russia illegally invaded, as I mentioned, and now over 14,000
of her people have been killed in Ukraine. Over 1 million more have
been displaced, and the country probably has under 40 million people
now.
Russia's physical territory represents Goliath in his battle against
David. The maps clearly show how vast Russia is--over 13 time zones
compared to Ukraine.
We see the Russian military amassing at all the borders of Ukraine.
If Russia again invades Ukraine, the internal opposition would be
fierce and bloody, and that country suffered more than any other people
in the world during World War II, that infamous period of time when so
many Americans died on the European continent for the very idea of
liberty in Europe.
The response that is needed from global leaders is clear. When
freedom and liberty fall under attack, the free world has an obligation
to rise up in its defense.
The United States is doing its part. I support President Biden and
his administration having committed to end the Nord Stream 2 project if
Russia invades Ukraine further. We must continue to stiffen sanctions
and work to establish European energy independence and forge a global
defensive shield for the protection of Ukraine.
{time} 1515
The United Nations, NATO, and the Organization for Security and Co-
Operation in Europe have the ability to rally a global coalition to
ward off Putin and his thirst for domination over countries that do not
welcome him.
Russia cannot be allowed to operate as the outlaw on the European
Continent. So let us seek to build, not destroy. The time has come for
the free world to soundly reject Putin's ugly schemes and work together
to safeguard Ukraine now and forever.
There are several Members who are joining us here today on the floor
to participate in this Special Order. I would like to especially
recognize Brian Fitzpatrick, the co-chair of Ukraine Caucus from
Pennsylvania.
We also have, I believe, Congressman Kweisi Mfume of Maryland,
Congressman Andy Levin of Michigan, and Congresswoman Victoria Spartz
of Indiana, thus far. I thank them all for being here.
I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick).
Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Kaptur for all
she does for Ukraine.
Mr. Speaker, I stand here not only as the co-chair of Ukraine Caucus,
but also the ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Europe,
Energy, the Environment, and Cyber; and a commission on the Helsinki
Commission, having previously served and lived in Ukraine, in Kiev,
standing side by side with the Ukranian people, and growing to love
them for their heart, their passion, their desire for independence,
their desire for closer ties to the West, and their craving for
freedom, something that they are striving for more and more every
single day.
With all of those things in context, Mr. Speaker, this moment before
us, unfortunately, has not come as a surprise. Over the last 8 years,
the amazing people of Ukraine have endured Russia's illegal and violent
occupation. To date, some 14,000 innocent Ukrainians have perished,
many of whom were civilians with more than a million displaced.
The autocratic regime of Vladimir Putin has engaged in countless
humanitarian violations and challenged international norms of
sovereignty over the last 30 years, and it is imperative that the
United States and our NATO allies meet this moment with deterrence and
diplomacy and strength in unity.
America must, as we have in the past, stand up against Russian
authoritarianism. The people of Ukraine share our Western values and
deserve freedom from Russian oppression. The people of Ukraine share a
steadfast commitment to regional cooperation resisting polarization and
shining a light on corruption. The United States has moved to supply
[[Page H1109]]
Ukraine with lethal aid to maintain its borders in the wake of
increased Russian aggression.
The United States has committed just recently an additional $200
million in security assistance, and we must encourage our NATO allies
to act in a similar fashion. We applaud those NATO allies who have
stepped up to the plate and encourage those who have not that they must
do so now to maintain the NATO alliance. We have already stepped up to
defend democracy in so many other areas of the world and this must be
no exception.
It is my hope, Mr. Speaker, that more of our ally countries will take
this charge seriously and realize what is at stake. It is also my hope
that our allies can look to decouple with the Russian economy,
recognizing the larger threat Putin's destabilizing regime poses
throughout Europe and throughout the world. Taking decisive action in
implementing economic sanctions to the harshest degree is necessary,
and we must weigh all of our options given the severity of this moment,
along with a wide, bipartisan coalition in both Chambers of Congress.
My colleagues in Congress have called for sweeping sanctions on the
kleptocrats that keep Putin's regime operable. As it has before with
other rogue powers, the international community must send a clear and
unequivocal message. If Russia insists on threatening the sovereignty
of another state and jeopardizing global security, there will be the
harshest of consequences.
I would like to thank my co-chairs for being here today as well as
Representative Victoria Spartz, the first-ever Ukrainian born Member of
Congress, an immense source of pride for the people of Ukraine. We are
here to send a bipartisan, bicameral message to Vladimir Putin and his
corrupt regime that these consequences will far outweigh any benefit he
may perceive of further aggression in Ukraine.
If the Euromaidan Revolution should have sent any message to Russia,
it is that you never underestimate the heart and the passion of the
soul of Ukrainian people to defend their own independence.
The overwhelming majority of Ukrainians were born after 1991, after
their independence. They do not want any part of Russia regardless of
what Vladimir Putin thinks. And we will stand behind them unequivocally
and unapologetically to call for the harshest of consequence should
Vladimir Putin take one step across the Ukrainian border.
I personally will make it my mission here in this body to see that
they receive the harshest consequences, the least of which will be
ending Nord Stream 2 and removing Russia from the Swiss banking system,
cutting off their economy, targeting sanctions to Vladimir Putin
himself and his surrounding oligarchs.
I say to Mr. Putin that that will be just the beginning of what he
will face.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Congressman Fitzpatrick for
his strong support of Ukraine and for the substance he has given from
his own life prior to his service here in the Congress of putting that
life at risk many times on behalf of liberty around the world. I thank
him so very, very much.
I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin), who is a very
fervent supporter of Ukraine, and thank him for adjusting his schedule
to be here with us this evening.
Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my
colleagues in the House Ukraine Caucus in this strong show of resolve
to keep our focus on what is happening in Ukraine and on its borders.
And I especially want to thank my dear friend, Chair Marcy Kaptur, for
her leadership in organizing this timely event, and the co-chair, Brian
Fitzpatrick, for his strong leadership on this issue and all of the
other Members who are joining today.
I represent one of the most vibrant Ukrainian-American communities in
the United States. And I have spent time with my constituents in
Michigan at memorials and commemorations of the Holodomor, and even
just last weekend at a peace vigil in a Ukrainian church to pray for
peace and for no more war in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian-American community in Metro Detroit and around this
Nation is deeply worried about their family, about their friends in
Ukraine, and what might happen if Russia were to newly invade their
country because we know Russia has already invaded their country.
It is 8 years of Russia invasion and occupation of Crimea and their
interference in the Donbas and eastern parts of Ukraine, and it has
been a really traumatizing time for Ukrainians, obviously, but also for
Ukrainian-Americans.
I have been supportive of the efforts here in the House and by the
Biden administration to focus on both deterrence and diplomacy. I am
proud to cosponsor the Defending Ukraine Sovereignty Act which seeks to
deter Russia by imposing tougher sanctions by providing more defensive
equipment and weapons, and expanding programming to counter Russian
disinformation and cyber activity.
I also want to commend President Biden emphasizing diplomacy to
deescalate tension. Above all, we must avoid a war between the two
largest nuclear powers. I appreciate how much he has worked to unify
all of our European allies behind this effort, and I appreciate the
leadership of those European allies in pushing for a peaceful
resolution to this situation.
Mr. Speaker, I am glad to join with my colleagues today and to share
this commitment to helping the Ukrainian people, and I am hopeful that
our work in the Congress, coupled with measures taken by the Biden
administration, will ultimately prevent more conflict from breaking
out. But we have got to make it very, very clear to Vladimir Putin that
he will get exactly what he doesn't want if he insists on attacking
Ukraine further.
He has said he wants less NATO involvement in the eastern reaches of
the alliance, and his aggression and his provocation is causing just
what he says he doesn't want. So I am hopeful that diplomacy can carry
the day, but we have to be ready with all measures of deterrence to
prevent an attack, and we have to be--even though it doesn't make sense
to implement sanctions in advance, it definitely makes sense that we be
very clear with Putin and the oligarchs and the people around him just
as Representative Fitzpatrick said, that we will implement a broad
array of sanctions, by far, the harshest array of sanctions that we
have ever arrayed against them.
Before I yield back, Congresswoman Kaptur, I just wanted to share
that when I was at my most recent event in the community in Michigan, I
said--and Congresswoman Spartz, I want to say this to you because I
haven't had a chance to talk to you about this idea--let's organize a
vigil at the Holodomor Memorial here near Union Station when we are
back to stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
Let's get as many Members of Congress there as we can. That idea
seems to be taking off with the Ukrainian-American community. So I hope
we will soon have a date when we can announce an event there where we
can show our solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
Lord knows, we love Ukraine. It is an independent country that
deserves to have its own borders respected and where the people deserve
to democratically determine their own future and, Congresswoman Kaptur,
we are never going to give up on our commitment to those principles.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Levin for his leadership
on this, and we will work with him on the vigil at the Holodomor
Memorial here in Washington, D.C.
I thank the gentleman for taking the time to delay his flight back
home, I am sure, to be with us. The gentleman reminds me when we look
at the map of Russia in red and Ukraine in yellow, we think about David
and Goliath--at least I do--and David deserves attention and respect.
We thank you for your time this evening. And also I wanted to say to
Congresswoman Victoria Spartz from the State of Indiana who is joining
us this evening, sometimes the heavens produce someone in the Congress
at a moment in history that becomes pivotal.
As I introduce her, I thank her extremely for her excellent
participation in the Ukrainian Caucus, her leadership, and her ability
to change her schedule at any point in order to be a strong voice for
liberty. No one knows
[[Page H1110]]
better than she what it is like to live under a tyrannical, repressive
regime.
I yield to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Spartz).
Mrs. SPARTZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Kaptur and
Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick for their bipartisan leadership.
I know that this Special Order is about the situation in Ukraine, but
the situation in Ukraine goes beyond Ukraine. It is a threat to the
stability of the world order, the largest threat since World War II,
and a threat to any democracy.
I would also like to remind us that millions of our predecessors died
for freedom, peace, and democracy. I would like to read some excerpts
from the recent joint statement of the Russian Federation and the
Peoples Republic of China dated February 4, 2022.
``Today, the world is going through momentous changes, and humanity
is entering a new era of . . . profound transformation. It sees . . .
transformation of the global governance architecture and world order .
. . a trend has emerged towards redistribution of power in the world.
The sides note that Russia and China as world powers . . . have
longstanding traditions of democracy which rely on thousand-years of
experience. They stand ready to work together with all the interested
partners to promote genuine democracy.''
I know that President Putin is not going to listen to me, and I am
not sure to anyone else, but I hope he still has to listen to the
Russian people at least a little bit. I am not naive on his personal
ambitions although I would still offer him an olive branch if he really
cares about his people in his country. Therefore, I am going to direct
my message to over 3 million Russian Americans. I am talking to you as
a Congresswoman representing the great State of Indiana, who grew up
under Communists in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. I was born
in a country that doesn't exist anymore, and for good reason, as many
of you, too.
I know that many of you have relatives in Russia and dual
citizenship. I know that Putin has powerful anti-American propaganda on
his TV. I was somewhat surprised over its extant. It's worse than
during the Soviet Union times.
{time} 1530
I want you to let the Russian people know that neither the United
States nor the West are a threat to Russia's national security.
I would argue that Russia has a much bigger threat coming from the
east. There is a very aggressive economic expansion of China in the Far
East and Siberia.
I would also like to make it very clear that the American people do
not want another war in Europe.
I also want to remind you of the human cost of any war. If Russia
starts a war in Ukraine, which looks more and more likely, a lot of
young people will have to die from both sides. No one will benefit from
it. Maybe the Chinese Communist Party, but not the Russian people.
I just do not believe that the Russian people would want to go in
history as a puppet to the imperialistic ambitions of China and would
want to promote a so-called genuine democracy of the Chinese Communist
Party.
The ball is in your court, President Putin and Russian people. I hope
you will be on the right side of history.
I also would like to share a message with my fellow Americans: Do not
get distracted, and do not get reluctant. A threat to our freedoms from
outside and within is real. Protect and cherish our freedoms so our
children do not have to fight to get them back.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Spartz very much for
being here and for being such a strong voice for liberty, having known
the other side of that. I thank her for her time today, for her
heartfelt remarks. We continue to be benefited by her extraordinary
leadership.
Mr. Speaker, our final speaker today is the very distinguished
gentleman from the State of Maryland who knows a whole lot about the
rule of law and human rights.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Mfume), who
we are fortunate has returned to Congress after serving in so many
national positions. We are so grateful for his life and his presence
here today.
Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Kaptur for her overly gracious
remarks. I appreciate them. I also appreciate the opportunity to join
her and the others in our discussion about Ukraine.
Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Ohio has 6 minutes
remaining.
Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, I am really happy to join with Congresswoman
Kaptur, who has served for some time now as chair of the Ukrainian
Caucus, who has driven us and gotten us to this point, but who has also
kept together a bipartisan group of legislators. So, to her and to
Ranking Member Fitzpatrick, my thanks to both of them.
We are all here, obviously, because of the situation in Ukraine. This
comes at us from different ways. I initially got involved when I came
back to Congress because of a gentleman by the name of Roman Goy in my
district who has watched these situations with Ukraine going back to
2014 and beyond and who felt sort of helpless.
On behalf of Mr. Goy in Catonsville and all the other ones that I
have heard from--and I am particularly heartened to also hear, as we
did earlier, from the gentlewoman, Mrs. Spartz, who is the only native
Ukrainian to serve here in the United States Congress. Her comments are
compelling, and her witness is one that we should always keep in front
of us as something to be reminded of.
Mr. Speaker, I go back a long, long way in terms of the aggression
that we now see in Ukraine. I go so far back as to remember the Cold
War days that a lot of us grew up under, the days of a very, very
aggressive Soviet Union hellbent on domination, spanning 13 time zones,
with a growing nuclear arsenal in those days and with the twisted
belief that they somehow or another could, in fact, be a part of this
hemisphere and pose an issue to us. It was a different Soviet Union. It
is Russia now, but that same sort of thinking pervades.
Back then, I am talking about the missile crisis in Cuba, where
Soviet President Khrushchev, Nikita Khrushchev, was putting missiles 90
miles off our coast, believing that he and the Soviet Union had a right
to that sort of expansionism, that sort of aggression.
Thank God that President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, having reached a
very tight ultimatum with the reality, decided that the United States
would not accept that.
We were on the brink of war then, but the Soviet Union blinked. They
removed their missiles from Cuba, and we have sort of coexisted in a
sort of Cold War for some time now.
Then, with the fall of Berlin and the ending of the Soviet Union as
we knew it, and now the singular emergence of Russia, all of us
concerned here are concerned about what is happening in Ukraine.
When you look at the troop movements that are taking place, when you
look at the propaganda being spun by the Kremlin, it is all so familiar
to what happened in 1914 when the Soviet Union went off in its own
direction and when it began to build up its war machine.
In 2014, the Russian Government, following the same script, has
decided--or did decide then--to have similar troop movements, similar
weapons buildup, and a similar effort to invade. Even though the talk
then was ``we are not invading,'' we know what happened then. They
invaded Ukraine. They took and annexed Crimea.
People in Kiev and elsewhere have been watching the situation with
great trepidation, and now we are at a point with a massive Russian
buildup all along the Ukrainian border, well over 100,000 troops, all
sorts of armaments, and the ability to have airpower to strike and to
take, if they want to, that country.
So, the fact that President Biden and others have stood up--we want
to also thank all of our European allies for banding together. The
North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed just to be able to
prevent things such as this. Although Ukraine is not a signatory under
Article 5, its sovereignty and its independence is so very, very
important.
I want to join with Congresswoman Kaptur, Ranking Member
[[Page H1111]]
Fitzpatrick, Mrs. Spartz with her testimony, and all the others who
have continued to raise this issue.
In the old, old days, we never knew when the then-Soviet Union was
going to strike. We don't know now. I remember air drills at 1 o'clock
in the afternoon. In schools, we were so close to the end of the last
war, kids had to stop what they were doing and practice drills, hiding
under their desks. In every school, there was a bomb shelter. We have
come a long way since then, but that threat is still there.
A lot of people say: Well, why is this important? It is important
because history can repeat itself. It is important because history
often does repeat itself. It is important because it is a lesson that
we have learned and must never get away from.
Terrorism anywhere is a threat to democracies everywhere. I join and
am happy in this bipartisan effort, Mr. Speaker, to lend my voice.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Mfume for his sterling
remarks. His presence here adds enormous value to what we are
attempting to do, to stop war, to promote diplomacy and peace, and to
help protect a David against a Goliath. This is a very noble calling.
As we close today, I want to say for the record, for teachers who may
be listening, for scholars, for other Members of Congress, there is a
book by Dr. Timothy Snyder of Yale University titled ``Bloodlands.'' If
you want to understand the struggle for liberty, that is a book that is
a must-read.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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