[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 91 (Wednesday, May 25, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2687-S2688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                Ukraine

  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, at the end of April, I had the 
honor of traveling to Germany, Poland, and Lithuania to meet with 
American servicemembers and hear from high-level government officials 
on the state of democracy in Europe as Russia wages war against 
Ukraine. I returned to the United States with the reassurance that the 
commitment of our partners and allies to defending freedom and 
defeating tyranny has only grown stronger. I also returned with three 
important takeaways that I believe must be central in America's 
response to Russia's murderous invasion of Ukraine and must define our 
commitment to supporting our NATO allies and preserving democracy.
  First, America and our freedom-loving partners across the world must 
renew our commitment to ``never again,'' support the massive 
humanitarian efforts underway to aid Ukrainian refugees and those who 
are helping them, and forcefully condemn the genocide occurring at the 
direction of Vladimir Putin in Ukraine.
  Let me say that again. First, America and our freedom-loving partners 
across the world must renew our commitment to ``never again,'' support 
the massive humanitarian efforts underway to aid Ukrainian refugees and 
those who are helping them, and forcefully condemn the genocide 
occurring at the direction of Vladimir Putin in Ukraine.
  In 2005, my wife, daughters, and I spent 2 days visiting the 
Auschwitz Memorial and Museum in Poland. Anyone who has had the 
opportunity to walk the grounds of that place will tell you how 
overwhelming it is to confront the horrors that occurred there. It is 
out of these horribly dark places that the phrase ``never again'' was 
born.
  Following the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps, the world 
pledged to never again allow genocide to take the lives of innocent 
people, but today, Putin is choosing that path.
  When I returned to Poland last month, I had the solemn honor of 
participating in a Holocaust memorial ceremony alongside U.S. 
Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski in what was formerly the Warsaw 
ghetto and laid a wreath there to honor the Jewish people who fought 
the Nazi occupation. I also visited a refugee center serving the 
thousands of Ukrainians forced from their homes and who have been 
welcomed with open arms by the Polish people.
  During the ceremony and as I walked through the refugee center, my 
thoughts constantly turned to the atrocious attacks on Mariupol. The 
leveling of that city and the mass graves found there in Bucha cannot 
be ignored or dismissed as part of the war. These are crimes against 
humanity. Children are dying. Families are dying precisely because they 
are Ukrainian and won't do what the dictator Putin wants them to do. 
This is genocide.

  World leaders promise ``never again,'' but they are failing.
  I thank God for the incredible hospitality of the Polish people to 
welcome these Ukrainian families. I am grateful, too, for what other 
European countries are doing to help them.
  We must do everything in our power, using our voices, actions, and 
resources, to support these humanitarian missions and forcefully 
condemn Putin's genocide in Ukraine.
  Second, we must continue to show full support to Ukraine and do 
everything in our power to help it win in this war. That includes 
approving delivery of the MiG-29 fighter jets that President Zelenskyy 
has been requesting for months.
  President Biden's blockade of these aircraft is an act of weakness 
and makes no sense. If we want to prevent putting American men and 
women on the battlefield, we need to give Ukraine every military and 
intelligence resource it needs to fight and win this war. Most of our 
NATO allies agree with this, but Joe Biden insists on standing in the 
way and is actively helping Putin maintain dominance in the skies.
  Vladimir Putin is a murderous thug. His unjust war intentionally 
targets civilians and has taken thousands of innocent lives. This is 
genocide.
  The Ukrainians have shown that they are willing and able to fight 
this war themselves and can defeat Putin. We need to let them do it. 
When the war is over, accountability must be demanded and secured. 
Putin and his thugs in Russia and Belarus must be tried for their 
crimes in a war tribunal. They should never see another day of freedom 
as long as they live.
  Third and finally, we must recognize the importance of energy and 
industrial independence from tyrannical and genocidal regimes like 
Russia and communist China.
  I have long advocated for American businesses to decouple their 
operations from communist China. In March, I appealed directly to 
American business leaders and urged them in an open letter to begin the 
process of cutting ties with communist China and our dependence on its 
supply chain and realign American businesses with U.S. values.
  Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine shows exactly why decoupling 
from evil regimes is so important, and Europe now understands this 
better than anyone else. That is why we should applaud businesses that 
have taken steps to end their relationships with these regimes and 
applaud nations like Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland, which have taken 
aggressive action to end their reliance on Russian energy.
  Lithuania has also boldly stood up to communist China and supported 
Taiwan. Their bravery is exemplary and deserves our support.
  These nations are the exception to the rule in Europe, but their 
leadership in forming partnerships with democratic neighbors like 
Norway has proven critical to freeing them from the Kremlin's threats 
of withholding resources.
  To protect democracy and sovereignty from the influence of evil 
leaders like Putin and Xi, we must commit to preferring to do business 
with fellow democratic governments as much as possible. That is why I 
have been demanding that Biden take immediate steps to put America back 
on the path to energy independence, stop his appeasement policies with 
the world's dictators, and end all trade talks with Venezuela and other 
evil regimes.
  I recently secured a commitment from Energy Secretary Granholm that 
the United States would not import any oil from Venezuela or Iran. She 
said so in an open and public hearing in the Senate Armed Services 
Committee. President Biden needs to publicly reaffirm that commitment.
  Our attitude should always be America first, but if it can't be made 
in America, it must be made by a democratic partner or at the very 
least one who seeks mutual benefit with us instead of our downfall.
  Decoupling from Russia and communist China and other tyrannical 
regimes will not be easy for many businesses or governments, America 
included. This move won't occur overnight, but it is absolutely 
necessary as these despots advance their plans for world domination and 
continue to carry out assaults on sovereignty and democracy in Europe 
and Asia, as well

[[Page S2688]]

as support dictators in Latin America like Maduro, Ortega, and the 
Castro/Diaz-Canel regime. If America and our freedom-loving partners 
are going to truly stand for democracy, we cannot do so while lining 
the pockets of those who seek to actively destroy liberty and 
independence wherever it exists.
  Whether we like it or not, we need to recognize the evil in our 
world. It exists in the Governments of communist China, Iran, North 
Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Russia. They want a different 
world, one where the enemies of democracy, human rights, and sovereign 
nations issue the orders and the United States and our allies do what 
we are told. They will bully and crush anyone in their way if they are 
allowed. I, for one--and I know I am not alone--will not accept this.
  Out of this terrible conflict, America has an opportunity to reaffirm 
our commitment to the security and independence of democratic nations, 
strengthen our energy and industrial independence and partnerships was 
fellow democracies, and stop genocide, renewing the promise of ``never 
again.'' We cannot allow this moment to pass without creating this need 
to change. The survival of democracy and the United States depends on 
it.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.