[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 8, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H1364-H1367]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2050
      NO FLOWERS FOR UKRAINIAN WOMEN ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 2021, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Speier) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I am grateful for the opportunity tonight 
for a Special Order on this International Women's Day.
  There are a lot of ironies about this day. We in the Democratic 
Women's Caucus and the Bipartisan Women's Caucus could not let this day 
go by without drawing attention to what is happening in Ukraine to 
women, mothers, and children. The irony is particularly significant 
because International Women's Day is a national holiday in Ukraine and 
Russia.
  The Administrator of USAID and former U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power 
commented on this today. She referenced that the founder of 
International Women's Day was a woman by the name of Theresa Malkiel. 
She was a Jewish labor organizer in New York. She was born in what is 
now Ukraine, and she emigrated to the United States to escape 
persecution. Madam Speaker, 130 years later, Ukrainian women are now 
being forced to leave their homes as well.
  Now, we are heralding the incredible strength of Ukrainian women. 
They are facing unimaginable horrors brought about by Vladimir Putin 
and Vladimir Putin alone.
  Last year, President Putin sent a message to women for International 
Women's Day in Russia. He said: ``I wish you good health and success . 
. . . And, of course, I would like you to have as many reasons for 
smiles and joy as possible.''
  I guess the question to ask Putin is: Does that apply to Ukrainian 
women as well, the women you presume are Russian but are willing to 
have them be forced into death marches because you feel compelled to 
shell communities throughout Ukraine?
  Last week, Vladimir Putin's forces killed a woman and two children in 
cold blood as they attempted to escape over a bridge in Irpin, a suburb 
of Kyiv, and he continues to order the shelling of evacuation corridors 
as Ukrainian civilians attempt to flee. Over 1 million of them have 
already left. It is going to be millions and millions more.
  Let me just show you a couple of pictures, Madam Speaker. This is a 
woman in Ukraine on International Women's Day, thanks to Vladimir 
Putin. This is what Vladimir Putin thinks of women. These are the 
smiles he wants to see on their faces, the joy he wants to see in their 
eyes.
  This man needs to be called out for what he is. He is a tyrant, and 
he is committing premeditated war on the Ukrainian people and Ukrainian 
women and children. He is doing so and committing war crimes as well.
  Let me show you yet another picture, Madam Speaker.
  This is one that is hard to look at. These are three dead women who 
were trying to escape and were shelled down. They are now dead. They 
have their suitcases and their backpacks. One is a small girl. This is 
what Vladimir Putin is doing in Ukraine, and he must be called out for 
it.
  His bloodthirsty disregard for the lives of women and children has 
never been more apparent. Last month, I was disgusted to hear him use a 
crude rape reference to urge Ukraine to acquiesce to Russia's demands, 
saying: ``You may like it. You may not. But you will have to endure it, 
my beauty.''
  Vladimir Putin said this: ``You may like it. You may not. But you 
will have to endure it, my beauty.''
  His senseless war has already caused nearly 500 civilian deaths, and 
it is probably more than that, including 29 children, and it is 
probably more than that. He has already forced 2 million Ukrainian 
people, mostly women and children--in fact, about half of them 
children--to flee their country.
  On the news tonight was a story about an 11-year-old child whose 
mother let him leave. He traveled 700 miles to get to a safe haven. His 
mother, from some outpost somewhere in Ukraine, put up a video thanking 
those who had taken her son into their arms and who had brought him to 
safety. That is what Vladimir Putin is forcing Ukrainian families to 
do.
  The vast majority of these refugees, as I said, are women and 
children who have left their husbands, their brothers, and their 
fathers behind to fight. For the first time--for the first time ever--
half of these refugees are children.
  Now, think about the scars that will take place in the minds of those 
children over their lifetimes. These are children who should be home 
playing in

[[Page H1365]]

their neighborhoods and heading off to school, not hiding in bomb 
shelters and fleeing across borders, not crying in their mama's arms 
for milk when all they can get is water.
  Women and girls who are single and arriving at the border face an 
increased risk of exploitation and abuse, including sexual violence, 
gender-based violence, and trafficking.
  Welcome to International Women's Day. Welcome to what Vladimir Putin 
said he wanted, to put smiles and joy on the faces of women. Instead, 
women are becoming victims of sex trafficking and rape.
  The disruption of essential services and emergency medical care has 
already affected the women in Ukraine. We have seen heartbreaking 
reports of mothers giving birth in makeshift bomb shelters and 
underground metro stations as Russia bombs Ukraine's cities.
  The U.N. estimates that 80,000 Ukrainian women will give birth in the 
next 3 months--80,000 of them. That is as many women who will give 
birth as I have in one of my larger cities in my district. Many of 
these women are going to do it alone without the support of their 
family or their spouses, and they are going to do it without access to 
medication or critical and lifesaving care.
  This is the joy and smiles that Vladimir Putin talked about in his 
address for International Women's Day last year. I don't know what he 
said to the Russian women today. Did he send them flowers, give them 
candy, and offer them gifts?
  This is what he calls gifts to the Ukrainian women. The Russian 
conflict in the Donbas region has already led to an increase in sexual 
violence. In 2019, one in three Ukrainian women reported experiencing 
physical or sexual violence, and the current crisis increases this risk 
exponentially.
  We have seen a horrific increase in sexual violence just in the past 
2 weeks. In the city of Kherson alone, Russian soldiers raped at least 
11 women, in some cases so brutally that only five of them have 
survived.
  We must elevate these stories and call Vladimir Putin out for what he 
is. He is a misogynistic, evil dictator.
  Nevertheless, Ukrainian women are fighting back. I am really in awe 
of the ordinary, brave Ukrainian women who are leading the fight to 
protect their country.
  I am going to show you a picture now, Madam Speaker, of the Ukrainian 
women. These are Ukrainian women. They represent almost 22 percent of 
Ukraine's armed forces, which is one of the highest percentages in the 
world. In the United States, the number of women serving in the 
military is like 18 percent. It is 22 percent in Ukraine.
  Many women, many mothers, are taking their children to the border to 
hand them off to family members in Poland or Romania or other locales 
and then going back in to join in the fight.
  More women are joining the fight every day. They are teachers, 
nurses, accountants, police officers, and grandmothers. The list goes 
on and on. Even women members of the Ukrainian parliament, who just 
1\1/2\ weeks ago were writing their country's laws, have taken up arms 
in defense of Ukraine.
  I guess we should all ask a question: Would we do that?
  The Ukrainian parliamentary members are doing that. It is important 
for us to have their backs.
  I am proud that the United States has imposed unprecedented sanctions 
and export controls on the Russian economy. I am proud of what our 
President has done by solidifying the support of all NATO nations, 
something that hasn't been done for a very long time.
  NATO countries throughout Europe are stepping up in terms of how much 
money they are committing to their defense. They all recognize that 
this is about more than Ukraine. This is about freedom for all of 
Europe.
  I commend the Speaker for working quickly to bring a Russia energy 
sanctions package to the floor and committing to sending $14 billion to 
Ukraine to aid its military and assist with humanitarian responses. We 
must bring the full weight of the U.S. Government and our allies to 
bear in holding Putin accountable for his aggression and his violations 
of international law.
  Let me show you this picture, Madam Speaker. This is International 
Women's Day. There is no joy on the faces of these people. There are no 
smiles.
  This is Vladimir Putin's war. He has every intention to annihilate an 
entire population of people in Ukraine. This is not just an unprovoked 
war; this is a premeditated, savage, murderous, and tyrannical attempt 
of genocide.
  I hope that we have the guts to call him out. We need to create our 
red line, and our red line should be that every Ukrainian person who 
wants to leave the country will have safe passage to a safe country 
before another bullet or another missile is put into the air.
  I hope we do not see the unthinkable happen in Ukraine.
  God bless our Ukrainian women and children. God bless our Ukrainian 
President. God bless the military in Ukraine who fights on and all 
those who recognize that freedom is not cheap and freedom is not given. 
If you want a democracy, you have to be willing to put your name, your 
body, and your soul on the line to protect the community that you love.
  Madam Speaker, I have the great and distinct honor to yield to the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), who is my colleague whom I adore. 
She co-chairs the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus and has been 
passionate about drawing attention to the fate of the Ukrainian people.

                              {time}  2100

  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I want to thank Congresswoman Jackie 
Speier of California for her leadership on so many issues, including 
women. Not just women but for people everywhere, in our country, those 
who have been abused, those who serve in our military, and those who 
serve in our intelligence services. I thank her for her great 
contributions to our country, how she has lived her life and has served 
so nobly. The people of California have really sent a jewel here, and 
they know it. I shall miss her greatly when she makes her decision to 
leave us at the end of this session of Congress. She is truly a friend 
and a friend to the American people.
  I am very honored this evening to join her and rise on this 
International Women's Day to call out the damaged and really bestial 
soul of Vladimir Putin. His torturous treatment of the women, children, 
and elderly of Ukraine is a war crime.
  He is about genocide in a country that 30 years ago voted to be 
independent. When the Soviet Union fell, 90 percent of the people of 
Ukraine, about 42 million people, voted that they wanted to be free. It 
was an extraordinary moment in world history.
  But yet, we hear from this--what do I call him--Russia's tyrant--last 
year on International Women's Day, he issued a statement. Here is what 
he said: Congratulations to women--calling the day a ``holiday filled 
with joy, warmth and goodness.'' And he talked about mothers, 
granddaughters, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, saying how they 
represented love and tenderness and how good this was. Yet, if we look 
at the pictures that are here, he is killing them.
  There are pictures of the people. Look at this woman. He says 
tenderness and love and that women are taking care of countries and 
they are raising children. He is killing them.
  The elderly and the disabled--I received a letter today, and two 
individuals were killed in a car because a Russian bomb came down in a 
civilian area. The woman who was driving was elderly, and the person 
she had in the car with her was disabled. He is massacring civilians. 
He says he loves women. Really? They are dead. They didn't have a 
chance. They are civilians.
  In terms of the disruption of life in Ukraine, God bless them. Over 2 
million have now fled from their tiny, little homes. It is one of the 
poorest Nations in Europe, but it wants its freedom.
  Here is a picture of the numbers of people fleeing. You can see, if 
you look at the number of headscarves, these are women with their 
children. Many at the Ukraine-Poland border are kissing their husbands 
goodbye, they fear for the last time. The children are crying.
  In the westernmost city of Ukraine, Lviv, there is a sea of displaced 
people. Europe has not seen this since the Second World War, nothing 
like it. Free people everywhere have to pay attention. These are good 
people.

[[Page H1366]]

  Seventy-five percent of the food raised in that country that is eaten 
by the people there is raised by those women in their family plots, in 
their gardens. Putin is killing them. He is killing the mothers and 
grandmothers of Ukraine.
  What do his statements matter in the Kremlin, when he comes out of 
his cave, wherever that is. We see the butchery on the news every 
night. We see it on our iPhones. Our visceral feelings of horror pale 
in comparison to the lived reality of those who now know deep fear, 
anxiety, and loss.
  The reality is that Putin is sending his troops in those tanks and 
those jets up in the air to shoot and bomb hospitals and maternity 
wards and kindergartens and schools. He has already killed, from 2014 
to the present, when he first invaded Ukraine, 14,000 people who aren't 
known to the world, and now more. He has no heart.
  In his statement last year, on International Women's Day, he said: 
Thank you to the women doctors, the paramedics, the medical nurses, and 
all of those who are saving lives and nursing patients back to health. 
What a lie.
  These women in Ukraine today, without proper bandages, without 
medical equipment, are caring for women who are pregnant and delivering 
in the subway systems of the capital city, in Kyiv. If they need a C-
section and they are cut, there is no thread to sew them up. How about 
that, Putin? How about that?
  How many children have you killed since your invasion of Ukraine? The 
misery among these people.
  This abominable creature is now spilling the blood of those he once 
heralded. Ukraine's medical professionals and their patients are being 
murdered. The people trying to help are being murdered.
  On a day Putin recently proclaimed as the triumph of love and 
admiration and gratitude. This two-faced liar is committing war crimes 
against an innocent people.
  Can Putin be human? A human could not celebrate women on one day and 
then annihilate them and their families on the next. He simply couldn't 
be human. He is a killer of Lucifer proportion. He considers human life 
not sacred.
  So on this International Women's Day, a day dedicated to honoring 
women around the globe, let us recognize the brave, courageous women of 
Ukraine.
  From every walk of life, they have endured centuries of oppression. 
Now, with this window on liberty, this moment in history, they have a 
chance to take their young democracy forward, and they are fighting for 
it.
  They are sewing camouflage material to try to prevent the planes from 
seeing where they live. They are defending their homeland with every 
ounce left in them. There is not enough food, and there is not enough 
water.
  As co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus and as someone who 
has visited Ukraine since the 1970s countless times, I know these women 
and their bravery. There is nothing you can teach a grandma in Ukraine 
that she hasn't been through. We call them babusyas. They are the 
world's strongest women. They have endured so much. Ukraine's women are 
truly engaged in a battle to slay Goliath.
  Ukraine's passionate, generous, and courageous women are on the front 
lines. There are some who are serving in the military itself, on the 
home front, in their neighborhoods.
  I don't know if anybody saw the babusya, a grandma, who had a pan, 
and she hit an armed drone out of the air. How about that? They are 
learning how to use guns, to do anything to help their people in 
beating the savage attacks of Kremlin's Putin.

                              {time}  2110

  The entire world sees the bold spirit of these women. Here in 
America, we see that spirit in Ukraine's remarkable Ambassador Oksana 
Markarova, who has such dignity, dignity under pressure, real courage, 
rallying our Nation and our leaders for the aid of her country. We must 
hear her. We must hear the pleas of the people of Ukraine.
  In the midst of unceasing atrocity, Ukraine's women are pouring their 
hearts and souls into the righteous cause of defending the bright 
shining light of liberty. They can see it.
  I will tell you one experience I had when I first went to Ukraine, 
and I watched how the people walked with their heads down, and they 
didn't want to be noticed. They tried to be almost disappeared while 
they were walking down the sidewalk. They didn't want to make eye 
contact with anybody.
  Today, when you go to Ukraine, the new generation, they look at you, 
they have hope in their eyes, there is possibility. They want to access 
West. There is no more noble duty than defending liberty and letting 
others enjoy its bounty.
  When envisioning the vanguards of democracy, don't think of some 
mythical beings. Instead, think of the flesh and blood of Ukrainian 
women who are protecting and defending the precious blessings of the 
bit of democracy and liberty that they have been able to taste. These 
women are the real heroines among us.
  Today, America and the world rise up in solidarity with Ukraine's 
women. Let us salute their valiant fight against the darkness and the 
murderous behavior of Vladimir Putin. We stand with them, and we stand 
with Ukraine. No country in the world has done more for Ukraine than 
the people of our great country.
  Today, on International Women's Day in the year of 2022, America 
exclaims to Ukraine's women: Slava Ukraini. Thank you, we love you, we 
know you are going to be victorious. It is going to take a bit more 
time, but know that we in the free world stand with you and are doing 
everything possible to save you, to save your beloved families, to save 
your communities, to save your country. You so deserve the liberty that 
you have earned.
  I say in many of my speeches back home, there is no more sacred soil 
than the soil of Ukraine because of what its people intergenerationally 
have endured through no fault of their own. They deserve to be free. 
They have earned it.
  Ms. SPEIER. I thank the remarkable gentlewoman from Ohio, whose 
passion and commitment to the Ukrainian people is just so evident. She 
said that they will be victorious. I believe her because we are going 
to make sure they are going to be victorious. We have their backs.
  I am reminded of this comment by one Ukrainian woman, and she said: 
Nobody thought this is how we would spend our weekend; a teacher from 
the town of Dnipro told a cameraman as she and her neighbors made 
molotov cocktails. She said: I planned to plant tulips and daffodils on 
my backyard today. Instead, I learned to fire arms and get ready for 
the next night of attacks on Kyiv. These women are strong and 
committed, and we will have their backs.
  It is now a great privilege to yield to the gentlewoman from 
Pennsylvania (Ms. Dean), co-chair of the bipartisan Women's Caucus and 
a talented leader.
  Ms. DEAN. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Speier and 
Representative Marcy Kaptur. It is a solemn privilege to be with them 
tonight as we lift up the people of Ukraine, as we lift up the women 
and children of Ukraine on this International Women's Day.
  It is a sad day. It is a solemn day around the globe, and I hope that 
the people of Ukraine know that we are heartbroken and determined 
alongside of them.
  I will begin by saying, ``Slava Ukraini. Slava Heroyam,'' and 
recognize this International Women's Day.
  I am the co-chair of the bipartisan Women's Caucus, and on behalf of 
that caucus, I stand here to lift up the people of Ukraine, in 
particular, the women and children in their suffering.
  I want to say personally for me--I am speaking for no one in this 
case other than myself--I don't believe that we are actually witnessing 
a war here. I believe we are witnessing a series of war crimes; that we 
are witnessing a series, the world is witnessing a series of 
atrocities. There is no justification for this attack on the sovereign 
nation of Ukraine. These are war crimes, and they are Mr. Putin's 
alone.
  I represent the Fourth Congressional District of Pennsylvania. It is 
Montgomery and Berks Counties, suburban Philadelphia, proud home, in 
both Jenkintown, Abington, and in Bridgeport and other areas of our 
community, to terrific Ukrainian-American members of my community.
  I have known them for my entire time of public service: As a State 
representative for 6\1/2\ years and now in my

[[Page H1367]]

fourth year in Congress. I have always been proud to call them my 
community members, but sadly never so proud as I have been in the last 
3, 4 weeks, as they prepared for this horror that we all hoped would 
not come.
  Just a few days ago, I was with the Ukrainian organizations and 
volunteers at the Ukrainian Educational and Cultural Center in 
Abington, many of whom still have close family and friends in Ukraine. 
And, in fact, the children there made me this beautiful headband; made 
for me and for many others. What was fascinating that day is everyone 
was coming together, community coming together--not just Ukrainian 
Americans, but others--to say we will not stand for the horror that is 
going on. The globe, the world will not stand for the atrocities, the 
murderous brutality of Mr. Putin on sovereign people.
  One woman who started a donation drive was amazed. She went to U-Haul 
and bought 30 boxes, and she wondered if they would be able to fill 
those 30 boxes with donations of humanitarian food, medicines, 
blankets, clothing, and others. Well, I think there were about three 
container trucks later. The place was teeming with people, volunteers 
of all stripes, towering with boxes of donations and people furiously 
and very hopefully sorting those things. It was an amazing snapshot of 
what I already knew about the Ukrainian-American community. They are 
leaders in Montgomery County. They are leaders in this country. They 
are leaders we are watching and witnessing in this world. Their 
generosity and strength, their determination is extraordinary, and we 
cannot imagine the pain and suffering as they watch their homeland, 
they watch their family, their neighbors, their friends struggling with 
this set of atrocities.

  No amount of warnings from the Biden administration and our 
intelligence could have prepared us for the sheer brutality and 
devastation we have seen. Mr. Putin expected that he would quickly 
topple Ukraine's young democracy. He was wrong, and he will be forever 
wrong, as we have watched in all the resilience and the heroism of the 
Ukrainians, especially President Zelensky.
  Over the weekend, President Zelensky got on a call with Members of 
Congress, both House and Senate, Republicans and Democrats, hundreds of 
us. What a man of determination and dignity. I took notes. He said to 
us: We just want peace. We want to hold and kiss our children. We want 
to go to work. We want to sip coffee at our kitchen table. We want to 
be neighbors with the Russians.
  What bravery. What dignity. And yet this war has brought on him and 
us a humanitarian crisis, with the number of people fleeing Ukraine 
already exceeding 2 million. But death, displacement, and destruction 
must not be forever. We must provide necessary aid, weapons, medicines, 
food, fuel, refuge in a bipartisan universal way. I know we all in 
Congress will continue to do all we can.
  Ukrainians worldwide, please know we are here for you. You are 
welcome here. God bless Ukraine.
  The U.N. has recorded 406 civilian casualty deaths. Sadly, I think it 
will be far more than that. An 18-month-old boy was killed in his home 
after he was shelled by Russian forces; 13 civilians killed in an air 
strike on the town of Makariv, their bodies recovered from the rubble; 
a 26-year-old woman killed while attempting to deliver supplies to a 
dog shelter in Buka; eight people killed during Russian shelling while 
trying to flee the town of Irpin--children, mothers, civilians; a 
preschool in northeastern Ukraine hit while civilians took shelter, 
killing three of them, including a child and wounding another.

                              {time}  2120

  These tragedies are inspiring a Nation and the many women in it, and 
I applaud the women of Ukraine fighting to keep their country free and 
the women of Russia protesting and speaking out against Mr. Putin, even 
at the risk of imprisonment and worse.
  I think of Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.N., whom we have met with 
this past summer and this last week--what a tower of strength; and 
Julia, a teacher and volunteer who wept and said, ``I just want to live 
in our country, and that is all,'' as she waited to be deployed to 
fight Russian troops.
  Putin will forever be a pariah. The globe recognizes him for the 
murderous, brutal dictator that he seeks to be.
  Yet, I have hope. I have hope in the Ukrainian people and the globe 
that has recognized the horror that is this series of war crimes.
  Representative Speier, thank you for heading this tonight. Slava 
Ukraini. Slava Heroyam. God bless Ukraine.
  Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania 
(Ms. Dean) for her outstanding remarks.
  Madam Speaker, there are many people to thank. There are many 
organizations to thank.
  When we look at who is bringing shelter and aid to the Ukrainian 
people now, the nonprofit organizations around the world, CARE, 
Catholic Relief Services, the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization, 
the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Rescue 
Committee, Plan International, Save the Children, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, 
World Food Program, and World Health Organization. To all of them, we 
say thank you.
  Let's be clear: This is Putin's war. He will pay the price. His 
vicious, premeditated attempt of genocide of the Ukrainian people will 
not be tolerated.
  Tonight, I want to close with this photograph of Ukrainian women in 
uniform. They are fighting for their country, their future, their 
children, and truly for freedom around the world.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back.

                          ____________________