[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 214 (Thursday, December 18, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8887-S8888]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Unanimous Consent Request--S. 2657
Mr. President, now, the other bill that I think is critical is the
STOP China and Russia Act. This is bipartisan legislation that Senator
Cornyn cosponsored with me that targets those Chinese entities that are
supplying Russia's defense industrial base.
It focuses on machine tools, on electronics, on industrial inputs
that have military applications, those inputs that are showing up in
Russia in their armored vehicles, in their drones, and in the those
missiles. Those inputs enable Russia to rebuild forces and to prepare
for future conflict.
In fact, I don't know that my colleague from Kentucky who is on the
Foreign Relations Committee with me was at the hearing that we had
earlier this year where we heard expert testimony before the committee
from both the majority and minority witnesses that made clear that the
buildup that is happening in Russia right now goes beyond Ukraine.
As one of those experts said:
At this point, seeing the trends in Russia's military
capabilities, reconstitution, adaptation, the buildup in
Russian forces, there is no other reason to do that unless
you are expecting a confrontation with a much larger
potential adversary than Ukraine, because just to fight the
war in Ukraine, Russia doesn't need to do what it's currently
doing.
That is a quote from one of those experts.
That is exactly why this pressure matters, why it is important for us
to make sure that Vladimir Putin is really willing to come and
negotiate in good faith, which he has not been willing to do. Denying
Russia money and weapons reduces the risk of a wider conflict later.
Congress should take swift action to advance the second bill and to
target the resources that Putin needs to keep this war going because
they raised the cost of continued aggression in terms that Putin can't
ignore.
If my colleague from Kentucky thinks that nobody in America cares
about what is happening in Ukraine, he needs to talk to the folks in
New Hampshire who are part of Common Man for Ukraine who provide
supplies and go to Ukraine on a regular basis to try to help the people
who are effected.
Now, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate take up
and pass S. 2654, the STOP China and Russia Act 2025.
As if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask
unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate
consideration of Calendar No. 241, S. 2657; further, that the
committee-reported substitute amendment be agreed to; that the bill, as
amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that the
motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no
intervening action or debate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
The Senator from Kentucky.
Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, it is a naive
notion to think that we will yell and scream and gnash our teeth and
tell China: Quit selling dual-use materiel to Russia and that they will
immediately have a sanguine face and say: Oh, of course. What were we
thinking? We will quit doing it.
That is what the logic of this legislation is. We are going to tell
China to quit doing it.
Now, there is another way diplomacy could work. We have hundreds and
hundreds of sanctions on China. If you want China to do something, you
could offer to China to remove some sanctions in exchange for them not
selling weapons that have dual-use or parts that have dual-use to
Russia.
There are ways you can gain things through diplomacy, but they are
transactional, and they include carrots and sticks. But just making
sort of over-the-top statements about how evil China is and communist
this, communist that, will not get you anything.
If you want something from China, you have to offer them something in
exchange. If you want them to quit selling dual-use parts to Russia
that they are using in the war, offer them some relief from the
hundreds and hundreds of sanctions we have put on them.
Instead, what this body and the same people who are for this bill
have advocated is, we are going to go one step further. Anybody who
sells oil to Russia, we are going to put a 500-percent tariff on them.
How do you think China will respond to a 500-percent tariff? You
think China is going to say: ``Oh, we are so sorry. Our bad. We should
not trade with Russia, and we will do whatever the U.S. tells us''?
No. They will react like anybody else that is a sovereign nation, and
they will push back and they will say: ``Hell no. We are not going to
stop buying oil and gas from Russia.''
Then there will be a 500-percent tariff on China, which means what?
An embargo. We have got an embargo the President has already declared
on Venezuela.
Do we want an embargo on goods with China? Do we want to defeat China
by not trading with them? In fact, I think it is the opposite. I think
you defeat and influence China by trading with them.
The moment we have no trade with China, is the moment, in all
likelihood, they will say: We have got nothing to lose in going into
Taiwan. The moment they go into Taiwan will be when we have absolutely
no trade with China.
So it is the opposite. These people want to isolate us--isolate us
from trade. They want a trade isolationism throughout the world. It is
a mistake and won't work.
It is not that some of the goals or things that they advocate for
aren't desirable. I agree, we should try to get China to quit selling
dual-use parts to Russia. But guess what. When Secretary Yellen and
Secretary Blinken went over there, what did they do? They went over
there and publicly chastised China in their country. Do you think that
worked? No. That made China mad. They did the opposite.
This is the opposite of diplomacy. If you want diplomacy, you don't
call people names, you don't treat them like a stepchild, you don't
treat them like a rebellious teenager and say: I am wagging my finger.
You better quit selling dual-use parts to Russia.
No. You have to offer them something they want, and in exchange, they
do something we want. That is the way diplomacy works. But in
Washington, diplomacy works by ``We will have a resolution, and this
resolution will say how evil China is.'' It doesn't have any effect.
The sanctions haven't worked, taking Russia's money is not going to
work, and chastising China is not going to work. If you want to have
better relations, you have to have relations where it is a give-and-get
relationship. That is what diplomacy is all about.
I object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard.
The Senator from New Hampshire.
Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I think my colleague is confused. This
bill would not tell China what to do; it would require sanctions that
would prohibit the actions that I outlined about support to Russia. And
there aren't any tariffs in this bill.
Again, my colleague is confused.
I don't think giving NVIDIA chips to China is the way to get China to
cooperate with the United States. I think developing a relationship
where China understands where we are on issues and we understand where
they are is important, and that is what this bill is about. It is about
helping China to understand that we stand in support of Ukraine and
that we don't support China providing weapons and keeping Russia's war
machine going.
So I am afraid my colleague from Kentucky is interested in
appeasement rather than interested in trying to solve the issues.
We will come back to the floor and continue to try to raise these
issues because it is important for Ukraine to understand that there are
Members in this Congress who believe we need to support them in this
unjust war that
[[Page S8888]]
Russia started, and Russia is continuing to cause thousands of
casualties and millions of dollars in destruction in the country.
I yield the floor.
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