Congressional Record, Senate, March 1, 2022 — Postal Service Reform Act and Russia Sanctions
Summary
Page S856 of the Senate section of the Congressional Record for March 1, 2022, in interleaved columns. A speaker supporting postal legislation says that, along with reforms at the Postal Service, the bill gives the post office the financial breathing room it needs and is way overdue. Another speaker says the past 5 days have shown a flagrant act of unprovoked aggression by Russia against Ukraine. A tribute notes that on Saturday, March 5, Rabbi Posner officially became the senior rabbi of Beth Tfiloh Congregation, and Mr. Schumer then asks unanimous consent at the close of morning business.
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“Congressional Record, Senate, March 1, 2022 — Postal Service Reform Act and Russia Sanctions.”
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S856 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 1, 2022
Again, along with the reforms that are assured every family that they would legislation which has been kicking
being undertaken at the Postal Service still be able to connect to their mail around here for a while and is way
itself, this legislation gives them the service since electronic communica- overdue.
financial breathing room they need to tions were down, and it would be a What we have witnessed over the
be able to save the post office. while before they could be restored. In- past 5 days is a flagrant act of
I encourage my colleagues to join me surance claim information and legal unprovoked aggression perpetrated by
in supporting this bill. Let’s put the documents were going to be vital in re- Russia against Ukraine.
post office in a position to succeed and building their lives, and Rod ensured The world we are living in today is
provide those essential services that safe, secure, and timely delivery of different from the one we lived in last
small businesses, veterans, and rural those documents. week. For months, I, along with my
constituents rely on so much. Similar situations occurred in the Senate colleagues on both sides of the
I appreciate working with my col- communities of Reading and Greens- aisle, have watched the conflict inch
league Senator PETERS on this over burg when natural disasters cut off closer and closer.
time to find consensus. Both sides had their access to the local post office. The intelligence community provided
to make concessions to get to this When natural disasters wreak havoc in accurate and clear information on the
point. We have ended up with a good Kansas, a priority in the aftermath is situation, and for this, I commend
bill. Let’s pass this bill and ensure that helping to ensure postal operations re- them. I also commend them for releas-
the post office is healthy for our con- sume quickly for Kansans who lost al- ing the vast majority, if not all of the
stituents moving forward. most everything. In both of the cases information they had in an attempt to
I yield the floor. of Greensburg and Reading, the Postal deter Putin. That didn’t work. How-
f Service worked quickly with the com- ever, there is no question, we should
RECESS munities to reestablish mail service have taken action sooner rather than
and provide a method of communica- later, and it is time to do so now in a
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under
tion to rebuild from the destruction. much more aggressive fashion.
the previous order, the Senate stands
It is often a neglected fact that the In preparation for this invasion,
in recess until 2:15 p.m.
Thereupon, the Senate, at 12:44 p.m., U.S. Postal Service letter carriers are many of my Senate colleagues and I
recessed until 2:15 p.m. and reassem- the protective eyes and ears of the drafted hard-hitting sanctions and
bled when called to order by the Pre- neighborhood, often going the extra called repeatedly for more lethal as-
siding Officer (Ms. SINEMA). mile to aid a customer in need of as- sistance for months. We used all lever-
sistance. One such story occurred when age at our disposal to pressure the ad-
f
a Kansas letter carrier discovered a ministration to take sufficient action,
POSTAL SERVICE REFORM ACT OF customer confined to a wheelchair in but despite our actions, our efforts, it
2022—Motion to Proceed—Continued the heat of summer and without air- didn’t happen. Certainly, some mili-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- conditioning, a fan, or a ramp to get in tary assistance was provided, but it is
ator from Kansas. and out of their home. The Kansas let- hard not to think that if we had expe-
Mr. MORAN. Madam President, as ter carrier took it upon herself to rally dited Javelin and Stinger deliveries
the Senate process on the Postal Serv- the neighbors who all provided the cus- last year and let our allies move more
ice Reform Act is underway, I want to tomer with a window AC unit, a fan, equipment sooner, the Ukrainians
rise today to highlight the daily im- and had a ramp built. would be making the Russians pay a
pact the U.S. Postal Service has on Much of the benefits of the Postal much higher price.
folks back home, particularly in rural Service Reform Act will be halting the Right now, Ukraine desperately
Kansas. service reductions Kansans have been needs the support of the international
Many Americans rely upon the U.S. subjected to for the past 15 years. Doz- community. It needs us to sanction
Postal Service. When a special occa- ens of post offices across the State Russia, to punish its government for
sion arises, they will send a card to a have closed and multiple rural proc- this unjustified attack. These Ukrain-
loved one. And while receiving a letter essing facilities in Dodge City, Colby, ian heroes need more weapons, armor,
or a card, a gift in the mail—instead of Hays, Salina, Topeka, and Fort Scott and supplies to fight back the Russian
a text message or email these days— were shuttered. Now, if you live in invaders and preserve the lives of its
brings lots of people lots of joy and a many parts of Western Kansas or East- population.
connection to people, the U.S. Postal ern or Southeast Kansas, your mail is The Biden administration was well-
Service holds a very different role for processed someplace far away—North intentioned in pursuit of a diplomatic
so many Kansans living in rural Amer- Platte, NE; Amarillo, TX. There are resolution for Russia’s aggression, but
ica. only two processing facilities that re- the administration was wrong to op-
Its services are ingrained in the daily main in our State. The impact of these pose our congressional efforts to im-
routines and lifestyles of our rural closures and consolidations dispropor- pose even tougher sanctions that were
communities. Men and women of our tionately affect rural Kansans in both essential to make our deterrence cred-
communities gather at the post office. service reductions and lost jobs. ible. President Biden made it clear that
They see their friends and neighbors Congressional action on the postal maximum economic sanctions would
when they go to get their mail at the reform legislation will allow the U.S. only come after Putin invaded. The ad-
mailbox at the post office. Everything Postal Service to continue serving ministration’s promise that the threat
from celebrating birthdays and wed- rural America without fear of immi- of sanctions would be enough to deter
dings to supporting the town’s econ- nent service reductions that will fur- Putin was a mistake. Look where we
omy, to even providing lifesaving as- ther isolate rural communities. The so- are now. Diplomacy has failed. The in-
sistance during a natural disaster or lution to the post office’s financial cir- vasion has happened.
global pandemic revolves around the cumstances can’t simply be elimi- While sanctions have now been levied
post office. nating service, reducing service. To en- on Russia, there is still room for more
Rod Holub, former president of the sure that the U.S. Postal Service main- robust sanctions in order get Putin to
Kansas State Association of Letter tains its vital services, I urge my col- pull back. I have always said I am all
Carriers, reminded me of a supercell leagues to support and vote for the in on all of the above when it comes to
tornado that hit Manhattan, KS, in Postal Service Reform Act. Ukraine and Russia.
June 2008. There was no electronic I yield the floor. I am happy to support legislation
communication available, and the only The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- proposed by my Democrat colleagues,
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
reliable way to communicate was the ator from Idaho. but the Senate must take the lead and
post office. One of the first people al- UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST—S. 3652 mandate the massive economic sanc-
lowed in the affected area was Rod, the Mr. RISCH. Madam President, I rise tions that President Biden and his offi-
postal carrier. today to discuss Russia’s invasion of cials committed to.
Kansans living in Manhattan at the Ukraine, and in a moment, I am going The NYET Act, which I introduced 2
time have told me stories of how Rod to ask unanimous consent to pass some weeks ago with numerous cosponsors,
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March 1, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S857
contains the tough sanctions that will Mr. TOOMEY. Madam President, I banks access to SWIFT, we don’t deny
bring the hammer down on Putin and want to thank the ranking member of them the ability to conduct business,
his regime and provide the assistance the Senate Foreign Relations Com- the ability to move money on behalf of
that Ukrainians need now. It is based mittee for the work he has done on this oligarchs and the oil and gas industry.
on the bipartisan negotiations that for years. We don’t cut off the flow of revenue to
took place over the last 2 months and I just want to make a couple of Putin, not just by kicking them off
includes many measures that have points here. One is—it is a very hard SWIFT. We make it inconvenient for
been endorsed by Members on both point to make, but I think we ought to them, but there are workarounds that
sides of the aisle. be candid, and that is, there is a very you can use to get around the obsta-
To be clear, I understand that my real danger that the Russian military cles.
friends on the other side are going to will eventually prevail. Let’s be hon- What we need to do and what we do
object to this; nonetheless, a good est. They are much larger. They have in this legislation is we make a very
number of the things they suggested far more resources. The Ukrainians are simple proposition to the entire world.
are in this bill. putting up an absolutely historic and Banks all around the world will under-
The NYET Act places sanctions on heroic fight, but it is not clear that stand that if this legislation becomes
Russia’s lucrative mining, mineral, and they can hold on indefinitely. law, they have a choice to make: They
oil and gas sectors—actions that the So what should we be doing in light can do business with Russian banks or
administration thus far has refused to of that fact and the circumstances we they can do business with the United
take. This needs to be done, and we have? I completely agree with Senator States of America, but they can’t do
haven’t received an explanation as to RISCH. We have an obligation, in my both. That is not a tough decision for
why they haven’t done it. It punishes mind, to provide the resources that we the world’s banks. The overwhelming
Russian and Belarusian Government can. We are doing that. This legislation majority and all of the significant ones
and military officials for their horrific would go further. will choose to do business with the
actions and will expose the full extent There is one other thing we can do United States. That shuts down the
of Putin and his cronies on the left. that I think is extremely important as Russian banking industry. That shuts
The bill sanctions 12 of the largest well, and that is, establish as a goal down the revenue stream for Vladimir
Russian banks and critically also im- that as soon as possible, Vladimir Putin. That shuts down the money that
poses secondary sanctions on them— Putin come to regret this decision. It is is funding this appalling, atrocious
something the administration has yet extremely important, in my mind, that military campaign.
to do. Secondary sanctions are critical Putin and all of the other authoritar- Are there any consequences to us? It
to hurting the Russian economy. They ians and bullies and dictators around is possible that for some period of time,
force the world’s financial institutions the world see this invasion of Ukraine there would be somewhat higher en-
to make a choice between Russia and as a terrible, strategic mistake for ergy prices. We don’t import very
Western markets. They will choose the Russia to have made because if they many Russian energy products. We
West. Indeed, for their own good, they shouldn’t be importing any at this
don’t conclude that this was a mistake,
must choose the West. Russia will be point. We don’t import much. But the
then it doesn’t end with Ukraine.
isolated. So how do we ensure that this is uni- fact is, we can make up for a disruption
When it comes to sanctions, I want in supply by enhancing our own pro-
versally recognized, including by Putin
to thank Senator TOOMEY for helping duction and encouraging an increase on
and those who would like to emulate
on that part of this bill, and he is going the part of swing producers who are
him? How do we make sure they see it
to talk about them in just a minute for much more closely allied with us than
as the mistake that we believe it is?
just a period of time. with the Russians.
NYET also increases the funding for There is one way to do this: We bring
The Ukrainian people and the
military assistance to Ukraine, as well the Russian economy to its knees. And
Ukrainian people’s elected leaders have
as other Eastern European nations, to we have the ability to do that, but we
been absolutely heroic. They are fight-
Radio Free Europe, to Radio Liberty, have chosen not to do so thus far.
ing for their very lives. And, as I say,
the Global Engagement Center, and re- Now, I am pleased to see the adminis-
if Putin does not conclude that this
fills the President’s drawdown account. tration moving in the direction of
was all a very big mistake, then it
It also establishes a new Ukrainian sanctioning. I am pleased that many of
doesn’t end with Ukraine.
resistance fund to help Ukraine con- our European allies have taken steps to I join my colleagues in urging the
tinue to resist attempts to occupy or go in this direction. But until we shut adoption of this legislation.
subjugate any new territory Russia down the main source of revenue for I yield the floor.
seizes, while sending a clear message to Putin and his war machine, we will not The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
Putin that his military will pay a price have accomplished what we need to ac- ator from Florida.
for advances into sovereign Ukrainian complish. Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Madam Presi-
territory. Their resistance has been This legislation does that. Among dent, I thank my colleagues Senators
nothing short of awe-inspiring; that is, other things, it directly imposes the RISCH and TOOMEY for their leadership
the Ukrainian people themselves. We sanctions on the oil and gas industry— on these efforts.
need to help them, and this bill, the the industry that is 60 percent of all Americans are watching Russia’s in-
NYET Act, will do exactly that. Russian exports, 40 percent of govern- vasion into Ukraine, and they are look-
I hope my colleagues across the aisle ment revenue, and more than 20 per- ing to us for leadership. As an evil ty-
will put aside partisanship and join us cent of the entire economy. It goes rant wages war, they are asking how
today by passing this bill, which will after this source of cash to fund the our government will respond. So here
impose crippling sanctions on Russia’s war-fighting machine directly with we are. Congress is in session, and Sen-
most powerful people and which will sanctions, but it also does it in an indi- ator SCHUMER has placed the world’s
support the people of Ukraine. All of us rect fashion that is very important, most pressing issue on the back burner.
are moved by the Ukrainian people and and I want to touch on this. What could be more important than
their fight for freedom. I know my This legislation imposes what we call supporting a fellow democracy under
Democrat colleagues can and have sup- secondary sanctions on the Russian attack against a thug whose goal is to
ported nearly all of these concepts at banking sector. Why is that important? control as much of Europe as he can? A
one time or another. I ask them to join We have all heard that some Russian postal reform bill and a radical abor-
me today. banks are going to be excluded from tion bill.
This is the most deliberative body in the SWIFT system. That is true, and The freedom, wealth, and resources
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
the world, we always say. Well, we that is constructive; however, it is not of Europe are under attack. Senator
have overdeliberated, and it is time to dispositive by any means. SCHUMER wants to use our time to en-
act. The SWIFT system is just a commu- sure more unborn babies can be killed
I yield the floor to Senator TOOMEY. nication system. There is no money ac- and pass a postal reform bill that
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- tually transferred on SWIFT. Pay- doesn’t actually provide any long-term
ator from Pennsylvania. ments aren’t made. If we deny Russian reform for America’s postal workers.
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S858 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 1, 2022
And for what? So that President Sixth, all lobbyists currently work- resistant. The world has watched with
Biden has some progressive talking ing with the Russian Government, Rus- admiration, and the jury is, frankly,
points he can use during his speech? sian oligarchs, and other Russian inter- still out as to whether the Russians
This is wrong. Even Switzerland, ests should immediately cancel their can make good on their plans, given
which has spent decades with a strong contracts. The same goes for those rep- how fierce the Ukrainians have fought.
sense of neutrality, took decisive ac- resenting countries that refuse to con- And I have been proud to stand with
tion this week and froze the assets of demn Russia’s invasion or are aiding my colleagues on this floor as we have
Putin and his thugs. Russia’s attempts to evade sanctions. delivered additional aid to Ukraine, as
The Ukrainian people are being It is inexcusable for any American to we have made sure they have had the
pushed out of their country and are be lobbying on behalf of Putin’s evil re- Javelins and the Stingers necessary to
losing their lives as they bravely de- gime or those supporting it. protect themselves. I have been proud
fend their homes. We are hearing sto- Seventh, all State and local govern- to visit Ukraine with many of my col-
ries of Ukrainian grandfathers taking ments should take every action pos- leagues here today, and we are going to
up arms to defend their families. Why sible to end their relationship with continue to stand with the Ukrainian
can the Senate not come to work ready Russian Federal and local governments people.
to take on the gross attacks by Putin? and with Russian-owned businesses. A But I want to make two points today
He is threatening to use nuclear number of States and local govern- with respect to the effort that has been
weapons, and he is threatening NATO ments have already taken this step, undertaken by my good friend, the
members with cyber attacks and sub- and we applaud their leadership. ranking member of the Foreign Rela-
version. Yet Senator SCHUMER wants to Finally, every American should take tions Committee.
put the Senate’s focus elsewhere. care to not purchase Russian-made First, let me make a specific point on
And we all know that the Postal the merits of the bill that is being pro-
products. Just like with communist
Service is not in dire straits. It will posed here today.
China, buying products made in Russia
continue delivering the mail this week, Passing this bill with no committee
will only fuel Putin’s war. One of the
next week, and the week after. process, no amendments, no debate
But the same cannot be said about best tools America has at its disposal
is our ability to destroy the Russian would be a terrible idea. What this bill
the continued self-rule of Ukraine or
economy and inflict maximum pain on does, essentially, is to shatter Amer-
peace and stability in Europe as Putin
Putin and his oligarch thugs. ican unity with Europe, with Japan,
threatens to expand this war. That is
Now is a time for all Americans to with South Korea, with all the allies
why Senator RISCH and I sent a letter
come together in defense of freedom that have stood with us over the course
to Senator SCHUMER asking he delay
and democracy, and the Senate must of this past week.
bringing up the postal reform bill and
lead by example. President Biden spent the last 2
prioritize our support for the people of
That is why I am proud to work with months methodically building a never-
Ukraine.
When Putin is threatening to undo my colleague from Idaho on the Never before-seen coalition of nations to im-
our global order and seize further con- Yielding Europe’s Territory Act, or the pose the most significant set of sanc-
trol of wealth and power across Europe, NYET Act, to provide the critical sup- tions ever seen, and this bill would
Congress must act swiftly and severely. port Ukraine needs to defend itself and undo that.
Placing any other legislation, espe- deter Russian aggression, while impos- Why? Because this would mandate
cially a bill which does not address any ing real costs on the Kremlin for its that the United States impose certain
urgent issues, ahead of addressing the ongoing aggression against Ukraine. new sanctions over Europe’s objection.
turmoil in Europe is dereliction of our The Senate should act immediately It calls for the United States to aban-
duty to the American people and a be- on this bill. American leadership is don our policy of focusing on multilat-
trayal of our responsibility to stand for needed now more than ever, and taking eral sanctions and start over with uni-
freedom and support the world’s de- these steps now is how we as a nation lateral sanctions. Why is that a ter-
mocracies. stand up against evil. Until this con- rible idea? Well, first, because unilat-
At a time like this, we need to be flict is over, supporting Ukraine and eral sanctions just aren’t as effective
clear about our priorities. First, the making the horrific war as painful as as multilateral sanctions are. When
United States must continue to work possible for Putin and his evil regime you are talking about energy policy,
with our allies and partners to destroy must be our top focus. you want the Europeans with you be-
the Russian economy and levy dev- I yield the floor to Senator RISCH. cause that is where the Russian energy
astating sanctions against the Russian Mr. RISCH. Madam President, in ends up. Without Europe, going at it
oligarchy and Putin’s thugs and cro- closing, let me say, Ukrainians are alone, it makes the United States look
nies, both in and outside of the Krem- dying. They are dying in a heroic fight; weak, and the sanctions just aren’t as
lin. in a classic David versus Goliath fight. effective.
Second, the United States must sup- We can do something. We should do But second, this bill is a bad idea be-
ply Ukraine with every weapon needed something. We have talked and talked; cause breaking with Europe and our
and continue to work with our allies we have debated; and it is time to act. NATO partners right now—that is ex-
and partners to deliver resources to I ask unanimous consent that the actly what Vladimir Putin wants. Yes,
Ukraine’s military and the Ukrainian Committee on Foreign Relations be he wants to control Ukraine, but what
people. discharged from further consideration he wants more is to smash the trans-
Third, we must prioritize and in- of S. 3652 and the Senate proceed to its atlantic alliance to pieces. He sees the
crease our own defense spending to en- immediate consideration. I further ask invasion of Ukraine as a wedge that
sure maximum military readiness as that the bill be considered read a third will cause America to squabble and
we face both communist China and time and passed and that the motion to break with our allies. Putin is setting
Putin’s aggression. Now is not the time reconsider be considered made and laid a trap for us, and this bill would have
for weakness or any compromise of upon the table. us walk right into that trap.
America’s national defense capabili- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there Third, let’s be clear. With a couple of
ties. objection? small exceptions, President Biden has
Fourth, we must also immediately The Senator from Connecticut. already done everything that this bill
ban Russian aircraft from using Amer- Mr. MURPHY. Madam President, re- calls for and more. This bill calls for
ican airspace. serving the right to object. sanctions on those responsible for the
Fifth, the Biden administration must First of all, let me agree with my Re- buildup of forces around Ukraine. The
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
immediately roll back its failed Green publican colleagues. We stand in awe administration has imposed sanctions
New Deal policies and take action to today of the Ukrainian people, of Presi- on Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister
boost U.S. energy production and inde- dent Zelenskyy, of the Ukrainian mili- Lavrov, 13 other members of Russia’s
pendence. They should restart the Key- tary. They have given the Russians Security Council.
stone XL Pipeline and stop purchasing more than they thought was coming. This bill calls for sanctions on Nord
oil from Russia. They have stood up a defense and are Stream 2. Nord Stream 2 is done.
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March 1, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S859
Thanks to the committed diplomatic I believe that sometimes the stakes sets of Russian oligarchs are being
efforts of the Biden administration, the are so high that you have got to put seized. Vladimir Putin is being person-
German Government has put an end to aside your politics—at least tempo- ally sanctioned. Embargoes are being
Nord Stream 2, and we have applied the rarily—put aside your disagreements put on key technologies sent into Rus-
sanctions. and get behind your government. sia.
This bill calls for sanctions on Now, let’s be honest. As this crisis The set of sanctions that President
oligarchs. Biden did that with our al- has grown in seriousness, over and over Biden announced—it goes further than
lies, and he went further. He launched again Republicans have had the chance what most all observers and pundits
a task force that is going to identify, to do what Democrats did in 2001: ele- predicted. It is frankly stunning how
freeze, and take from Russian oligarchs vate loyalty to country. successful President Biden’s diplomacy
their assets. But all through 2021, even as Sen- has been.
This bill calls for sanctions on finan- ators were made aware of Russia’s And it just strains all credibility for
cial institutions. The administration plans to invade Ukraine, Senators CRUZ Republicans to suddenly claim that
has already targeted all 10 of Russia’s and HAWLEY and a few others continued this diplomacy is irrelevant and all
largest financial institutions, which to put politics first by blocking every these countries are going to impose
hold more than three-quarters of the single national security nominee who these sanctions even if President Biden
Russian financial sector’s total assets. came before this body, including those did nothing.
This bill calls for a prohibition on in- I wish my colleagues could see the se-
nominees who would have been work-
vestment in occupied Ukrainian terri- riousness of this moment and the need
ing to try to help Ukraine and stop the
tory. President Biden did that on the for us to focus our energies on coming
Russian invasion.
first day of the war. together instead of playing into our en-
Last month, Republicans and Demo-
This bill calls for sanctioning trans- emy’s hands and showing our dif-
crats were working on a bipartisan bill
actions involving the Russian sov- ferences at this moment.
to support Ukraine in its time of need. Our President has rallied the world
ereign debt. President Biden did that Those negotiations were difficult, but
on the second day of the war. to this fight. Vladimir Putin is reeling,
instead of staying at the table, Repub- but we are forced to spend time today
This bill calls for sanctions on
licans walked away with virtually no debating a partisan bill introduced by
Belarus. President Biden levied sanc-
notice to Democrats and introduced only one party that has no chance of
tions on 24 Belarusian individuals, 2
this bill, with only Republicans sup- passage because today on this floor
state-owned banks, and 13 of the coun-
porting it. scoring political points seems more im-
try’s industries.
President Biden has put together a And now, instead of rallying behind a portant than finding a way to come to-
sanctions package that is sweeping, President who has shocked the world gether—to come together with the
that is unprecedented, that is breaking by uniting friends and foes behind an President, with both parties around
the back of the Russian economy. So unprecedented set of crippling sanc- our support for Ukraine.
why are we down here on the floor en- tions against Russia, Republicans are And for those reasons, I object.
gaged in this back-and-forth? down here on the floor, not more than The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec-
And that brings me to my second a week since the Russian invasion tion is heard.
point, a broader one. It used to be that began, to highlight their grievances The Senator from Idaho.
with the President’s policies. Mr. RISCH. Madam President, in re-
the all-consuming politics of this town
Russia invaded less than a week ago. buttal to my good friend’s comments,
sometimes would take a break when
We returned to Washington last night, first of all, let me say that a number of
the crisis was big enough. Sometimes
and instead of deciding to sit down the things I do take exception with—
they would stop at the water’s edge.
with Republicans today and work on for instance, his statement that if we
This was the case in 2001 when this
agreeing on a package of support for pass this we are going to somehow
country was attacked.
Ukraine, like the one that President shatter the unanimity with which the
Republicans were in charge of the
Biden has requested, Republicans have world has come together to impose
White House and both Houses of Con-
instead chosen to spend today, our first this. Nothing could be further from the
gress, and Democrats certainly had the
day back in the Senate since the inva- truth.
choice to blame the attack on Presi- Certainly, the sanctions that we have
dent Bush to try to score political sion, playing politics, trying to force a
vote on a bill that they wrote, that not put on have been in conjunction with a
points. Democrats could have come lot of our allies and a lot of our part-
down to the floor to offer partisan a single Democrat supports, that ev-
ners. Simply putting on secondary
bills. Democrats in the Senate could erybody knows is not going to pass, has
sanctions—again, in conjunction with
have used their minority prerogatives no chance of passing.
Now, we could do the same thing. our allies and our partners—will not in
to block Bush’s national security any way shatter that at all.
nominees. Democrats could just put a bill on the
My good friend says, ‘‘Why are we
But that is not what happened in floor that we all negotiated with our-
here on the floor today?’’
2001. Democrats and Republicans came selves and force Republicans to vote on Senator, I would say, the reason we
together because, at that moment, pa- it. We could choose to use this week to are on the floor today is, it is not
triotism, the love of your country, the highlight the differences between Re- enough.
defense of your country was more im- publicans and Democrats, but we are Now, you said I came down here to
portant than politics or party. not going to do that because our pri- criticize the President. I did not criti-
Now, today, the shoe is on the other ority is to try to work together with cize the President in anything I said. I
foot. Democrats control the White our Republican colleagues to find applaud the action he has taken. I
House, the House, and the Senate. And unity—unity—at this moment; to not want him to take more.
while our Nation wasn’t attacked last use the first day that we are back in We have a convoy that is 40 miles
week, I would argue that this moment session since the invasion began to long that is headed for Kyiv. Now, that
is the most perilous that the United highlight the differences between our convoy started out after all of these
States and the world has faced, cer- two parties. sanctions that the President put in
tainly since 2001, but given the nuclear And, frankly, when I look at what place had taken effect. The banks, as
stakes involved in a conflict with Rus- Republicans have been calling on you know, shut down—at least tempo-
sia, perhaps the most perilous since the President Biden to do, I don’t see a lot rarily—in Russia. They closed their
Cuban Missile Crisis. of daylight. I don’t see a lot of reason stock market. They have done a num-
Now, I get it. The professional out- for complaint. I don’t see the impera- ber of things, but it is not enough. We
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rage machine that dominates American tive to come down here and highlight need to toughen up.
politics today has deluded a lot of folks the differences. As you know, I have talked and
in the Congress into believing that Nord Stream 2 is gone. It is not hap- talked and talked with the administra-
unity is weakness; that putting your pening. SWIFT sanctions, previously tion to try to get them to embrace sec-
country over party is an anachronism. opposed by Europe, are now happening. ondary sanctions because it is the sec-
But I don’t believe that. Russian banks are being crippled. As- ondary sanctions that are truly going
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S860 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 1, 2022
to shut the thing down lock, stock, and Again, I apologize if you think there rently has 23 sponsors. The bill, as
barrel; and Putin is going to have to is anything political about this. It is amended, does three things: It deems it
answer to his people if we do get it not. It is trying to do the right thing, in the public interest to export U.S.
shut down. as you and I have talked about. We liquefied natural gas to NATO coun-
Look, this is not partisan. I am not have an obligation to do this as Ameri- tries and defense allies. It creates a
here to try to drive a wedge in the cans, as the strongest country in the transatlantic energy security strategy
party. And as you know, your party world. We can’t stand by and watch focused on increasing American energy
had substantial input into the NYET this slaughter that is happening, and exports directly to Europe. And it di-
Act that we have here. The chairman when that convoy gets there, it is rects our NATO representative to help
of the committee, I think, negotiated going to be even worse. our allies and partners improve that
in good faith as we put this together. I This is something we can actually do energy security.
have told him that personally. I have to do more than what the President has So, Madam President, I ask unani-
said that publicly. done. mous consent that the Foreign Rela-
The fact is, we came very close to the And I will say it—I said it before and tions Committee be discharged from
bill, and the NYET bill is very close to I will say it again. I commend the further consideration of S. 819 and the
what we agreed to, but we couldn’t President for what he has done. But we Senate proceed to its immediate con-
come together on the last few things; also, as the first branch of government, sideration. I further ask that the Bar-
and that is, a permanent shutdown of have a responsibility. We believe this rasso amendment at the desk be con-
Nord Stream 2—not just the sanctions bill exercises that responsibility. sidered and agreed to; that the bill, as
that are in place on a temporary basis, The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- amended, be considered read a third
but a permanent shutdown—and on ator from Wyoming. time and passed; and that the motion
secondary sanctions, which we believe UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST—S. 819 to reconsider be considered made and
will be the final nail in the coffin for Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, laid upon the table.
the economy in Russia. Russia continues to engage in ruthless The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there
So, again, I answer the question and unprovoked attacks against the objection?
asked: Why are we here? We are here democratic and independent nation of The Senator from Connecticut.
because it is not enough. The convoys Ukraine. I strongly condemn Russia’s Mr. MURPHY. Madam President, re-
are continuing. There are tens of thou- dangerous aggression against the peo- serving the right to object. First, very
sands of more Russian soldiers that are ple of Ukraine. Putin is responsible for quickly, let me make a few final points
entering Ukraine. They are having a the death and destruction in his wake, about Senator RISCH’s comments.
tough, tough time of it. Senator RISCH says that this isn’t a
and he must be held accountable.
I agree with Senator TOOMEY. You partisan exercise. It is. The bill that
The one sledgehammer that we can
know, you sit here, and you see what is
use against Putin is American energy Senator RISCH is talking about was in-
going on. The question you have to ask
resources. Reducing the amount of troduced by only Republicans. It was
is: How long can the Ukrainians hold
Russian energy going to Europe would introduced with no notice to Demo-
out? We want them to hold out.
There are provisions in this act, as hurt Russia’s economy. The oil and gas crats. There was a big showy press con-
you know, that provide additional help revenues made up about 36 percent of ference in which only Republicans were
for the Ukrainians themselves. But Russia’s national budget last year. In there. In fact, the introduction of this
most importantly, what it will do is it 2021, Russia sold $100 billion worth of bill was a messaging point for Repub-
will flat shut down the economy in oil and natural gas to Europe. licans to announce that they were no
Russia. Russia is Europe’s main supplier of longer negotiating with Democrats.
In addition to that, you and I dis- energy. The European Union received And so I appreciate that Senator
cussed, I think, the fact that we can over 40 percent of its gas imports from RISCH often is working very industri-
never use sanctions in a manner where Russia. Russia also has significant ously with Democrats, but in this case,
we or our allies get hurt worse than the ownership in Europe’s energy infra- it is a partisan bill. Only Republicans
enemy does or, for that matter, to any structure, including pipelines, distribu- support it.
great extent. That is why there are tion centers, and storage facilities. And offering it today is not helpful to
waivers in here. And sanctions always With natural gas prices increasing the process because it had no chance of
have waiver provisions in them so that and oil surpassing $100 a barrel, more passage. Instead, today, we should be
it can take the edge off on anything of our allies’ money will be lining the working on getting additional funding
that causes us or our allies any dif- pockets of Vladimir Putin. Due to high to the Ukrainians.
ficulties. So in that regard, I think energy costs, Russian oil and gas reve- President Biden has requested our
that you are wrong on that. nues exceed initial plans by 5 percent help, has requested Congress to step up
Back to the basic bill: I said I am an this past year, totaling $119 billion. In and provide humanitarian assistance
all-of-the-above person. If the Demo- 2021, revenues from Russian oil and gas and more lethal assistance to Ukraine.
crats want to bring their bill down, it were almost $500 million each and Right now, with the time that we are
will probably look very much like this, every day. It is a windfall for Vladimir spending arguing over a bill that is
but it won’t have secondary sanctions Putin. As a result, the amount of Rus- supported only by Republicans that is
in it, it won’t have a permanent closing sian energy going to Europe is a major never going to pass this body, we could
of Nord Stream 1 and 2. I will stand up problem. be using that time to come together
here and say, We can do better, but I We must help our allies escape Rus- around a bill that can pass, that will
am still going to vote for your bill, and sia’s energy trap. American energy re- pass.
I wish you would do that on mine. But sources can allow Europeans to meet So that is why there is anger on our
I would respectfully request that you their energy needs and deprive Russia side about this exercise. There are
back away from this complaint that of the revenue it uses to fund its mili- these moments in American history
this is a partisan exercise. It is not a tary aggression. Due to technological and world history where our focus
partisan exercise. advances and an abundance of natural should be on unity, where our focus
There isn’t a person in this body that gas, the United States can be a stra- should be on coming together and find-
doesn’t want to do all we can possibly tegic energy supplier to Europe. Our ing what we can do together; and, in-
do to preserve the lives of the Ukrain- Nation has more than enough gas to stead, the piece of legislation that was
ians that are perishing every day— meet America’s needs and to export to just offered was a bill that was specifi-
women, children, civilians. We need to other countries. We must speed up the cally introduced to highlight the Re-
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do all that we can, and Putin is not process of getting American liquefied publican position in contrast to the
going to be deterred until we do all natural gas to our allies. Biden administration.
that we can, and that comes to perma- That is why I introduced S. 819, the As for Senator BARRASSO’s bill, it
nently shutting down—excuse me, to Energy Security Cooperation with Al- suffers from the same problem, which
completely shutting down the economy lied Partners in Europe Act, commonly is it separates us from Europe. It sepa-
in Russia. This bill does that. known as the ESCAPE Act. It cur- rates us from our allies.
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March 1, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S861
There is a lot of wisdom on the Re- together to try to deliver billions of We were much better off as a nation
publican side of the aisle, but it mys- dollars in additional aid to Ukraine. In- when selling energy to our friends than
tifies me why so many of my friends stead, we are engaged in a partisan having to buy it from our enemies. We
who know so much about Russia don’t squabble over bills that have no chance need to expand our energy production
understand that Putin’s primary objec- of passing, that are literally just as to bring down prices for working fami-
tive is to break NATO into pieces, is to valuable as the pieces of paper that the lies in this country whose paychecks
smash the European Union, is to create press releases from the Republicans can’t keep up with the inflation, and
tensions and fissures within the trans- will be written on. we need to sell it to our allies so they
atlantic alliance, right? I hope that we can get beyond today can remove themselves from the
Putin sees the greatest catastrophe and get down to work on serious busi- clutches of Vladimir Putin.
of the last 100 years as the breakup of ness—the serious business of coming Freeing Europe from Russian energy
the Soviet Union, and he blames the together, Republicans and Democrats, dependence is going to strengthen both
United States and the West for that and providing Ukraine the assistance our allies and our NATO alliances. We
breakup. So, while the invasion of they need, in a bipartisan way, through must provide American energy re-
Ukraine is part of his process of rem- a package of support that can be sup- sources to those countries as quickly
edying that grievance, the real crown— ported by both parties and signed by as possible. They are asking for it; they
the real cherry on top for Vladimir this President. want it; they need it. It strengthens
Putin—is the splintering apart of For that reason, I object. our national security and takes money
NATO and the United States from Eu- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec- directly out of Vladimir Putin’s pock-
rope. Now, we almost got there during tion is heard. ets.
the Trump administration. Relations The Senator from Wyoming. It is this administration’s energy
were never worse; threats of pulling Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, policies that have driven up the cost of
out of NATO or refusing to honor our just to point out, Members are clearly energy and driven down the production
article 5 obligations. entitled to their own opinions, but of American energy, which is what has
I would argue that this invasion is they are not entitled to their own provided a jackpot for Vladimir Putin
happening in part because the Biden facts. to fund his war machine. Energy secu-
administration made clear that there The facts of the matter are that this rity is a critical part of our shared de-
wasn’t going to be a natural disintegra- bill that I have at the desk right now fense. There is a national security
tion of the transatlantic alliance, and includes no sanctions, none whatso- problem for the United States when
so Vladimir Putin is using this inva- ever—none, zero. our allies are more and more dependent
sion of Ukraine, first and foremost, to This bill that we have at the desk is on Russian gas.
get control of the territory he wants something that our European allies The world knows Vladimir Putin uses
but also to try to split us from each have asked for. It is not to divide them energy as a weapon. Energy is called
other. And our fear is that bills like or us. They have asked for this to help the master resource for a reason. It
this essentially step into the trap that them divide away from Putin. They powers our country—our economy, our
Vladimir Putin has laid for us because need the energy; they need the lique- military. It powers the world. Vladimir
secondary sanctions on European enti- fied natural gas. Some of the countries Putin uses his energy as a weapon to
ties against the wishes of European have built or are building what are intimidate, to influence, and to coerce
governments splits us from each other. called gasifiers so they can turn the other nations. Energy funds Vladimir
Had Joe Biden gone this route, you liquefied natural gas, which comes in Putin’s aggression, and it has been the
would have never had the Europeans at a very low temperature, and turn it cash cow for his invasion of Ukraine.
working with us on swift sanctions. into gas that they can use for energy so Look, we have abundant natural gas
You would have never had the Euro- they don’t have to buy it and be held supplies. My home State of Wyoming
peans working with us on the seizure of hostage by Vladimir Putin. has amazing energy resources. We just
Russian assets. This is a bill that has previously got- need to be allowed to produce it. Eu-
But because Joe Biden made the wise ten bipartisan support, in this very rope’s reliance on Russian gas under-
decision to do these sanctions in con- body, with Members of both sides of mines our national security. Our na-
cert with Europe, we got more than we the aisle supporting efforts to help our tional security is increased by reducing
could have ever imagined. And this bill European allies—our NATO friends— the leverage that Russia holds over our
would walk us backwards, undo that break the dependence from Russian en- allies.
unity with our colleagues. ergy. Those are the facts of the matter. It is time for Congress to provide our
It may be that there will be a mo- People are entitled to their opinions. NATO allies and defense treaty part-
ment in time where we can convince These are the facts. ners a better energy option than they
our European colleagues to move with Russia’s actions against Ukraine em- have had under this administration,
us on sanctions against certain ele- phasize just how important it is for na- and the Senate should start by passing
ments of Russia’s energy economy, but tions—and specifically for America—to S. 819.
we must do that together. We have to be energy independent. I yield the floor.
do that together because you need to Under the previous administration, The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
understand what Putin’s larger game America was energy dominant. We be- ator from Wyoming.
is. It is the breakup of the trans- came the world’s largest producer of oil 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL
atlantic alliance. and gas. It was the first time we had PARK
I wish my colleagues were on the been energy independent in nearly 70 Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I
floor today, celebrating—celebrating years; yet this administration has re- come to the floor today to highlight
what President Biden has done. Nobody versed course. It has made it harder for the 150th anniversary of Yellowstone
thought that he could keep the alli- us to use American energy, and that National Park.
ance, that he could keep us together has empowered and emboldened Vladi- When it was established on this date
with Europe, that he could get Europe mir Putin. We have moved from energy 150 years ago, Yellowstone was the first
to agree to what they have already dominance to energy dependence. We national park in the world. Today, it is
agreed to. I wish we were rallying be- have American energy in the ground still one of the most popular parks on
hind our President right now. that this administration won’t let us Earth. One-hundred-fifty years ago, it
I get it that there are always dif- get out of the ground. We have energy was a new idea to set aside public land
ferences between the Republicans and a resources that would help lower the for public enjoyment. With the estab-
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Democratic President, but, boy, this cost and help lower the pain at the lishment of Yellowstone, Congress set
would be a great moment for us to be pump that the American public is liv- the gold standard.
on the floor, supporting the break- ing with. It would help break the de- Based on Yellowstone’s success over
through that President Biden has pendence of our European allies and the past century and a half, hundreds
achieved on crippling sanctions against the people of Ukraine from Vladimir of additional national parks have been
Russia and spending this day working Putin. created for Americans to enjoy. Many
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S862 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 1, 2022
other countries have followed our lead I am proud to celebrate Yellowstone fact is that these tactics diminish and
and have established their own na- with my colleagues in the Senate, degrade the ability of the Federal Gov-
tional parks. along with Senator LUMMIS, who is my ernment to serve the American people.
Yellowstone spans over 2 million colleague from Wyoming, as we cele- And so we come to the Federal Re-
acres throughout Wyoming, as well as brate with the people of Wyoming and serve. The seven-member Board is
parts of Montana and Idaho. That is with all Americans on this historic technically operating with four of its
more land than the entire State of day. seven members today, and two of those
Rhode Island and Delaware combined. Congratulations to all of the people are in confirmation limbo.
Yellowstone’s vast and varied land- of Wyoming who work to keep Yellow- Jerome Powell, who has been nomi-
scapes provide some of the most spec- stone one of our Nation’s greatest nated for a second term as Chair, is
tacular views in the world, and this is treasures. serving on an acting basis. Lael
just one of them. Cascading waterfalls, I yield the floor. Brainard is a Governor and is also the
steaming geysers, and gaping canyons The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- pending nominee for Vice Chair. There
often leave visitors speechless. Many ator from Rhode Island. is no Vice Chair for Supervision, and
generations of Americans have enjoyed FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM’S BOARD OF two ordinary Governor seats are va-
these same views. GOVERNORS NOMINATIONS cant.
That is what Congress intended 150 Mr. REED. Madam President, I rise The President has nominated a slate
years ago when it established the park, in support of the swift consideration of of five qualified, bipartisan candidates
as they said, for the benefit and enjoy- President Biden’s five nominees to the to fill these positions, including Mr.
ment of the people. Millions of people Board of Governors of the Federal Re- Powell.
come from all across the world to expe- serve System. Mr. Powell was first appointed Fed
rience the park’s beauty. From hiking Over the last year, our economy has Chair by Donald Trump and has served
and biking, to boating and wildlife improved tremendously, thanks to admirably for the last 4 years. Lael
viewing, Yellowstone offers some of the President Biden’s American Rescue Brainard was confirmed to her current
best outdoor recreation opportunities Plan and the bipartisan infrastructure position on the Federal Reserve Board
all around the world. law, and we have been guided along the with strong bipartisan support. Sarah
It also has iconic natural wonders way by steady leadership at the Fed. Bloom Raskin is a former Governor
like Old Faithful, the Grand Canyon of We are seeing positive results. and has been nominated as Vice Chair
the Yellowstone, and Yellowstone Last year, GDP grew by 5.7 percent, for Supervision. The Senate confirmed
Lake. It has 25 square miles of gey- and we gained over 6.6 million jobs. In Ms. Raskin to the Federal Reserve
sers—over half of the total number of each month during the second half of Board a decade ago by voice vote and
geysers in the world. The Greater Yel- last year, the family tax credit in the as Deputy Treasury Secretary on a bi-
lowstone Ecosystem, of which the park American Rescue Plan pulled approxi- partisan vote. Lisa Cook and Phil Jef-
is a part, is one of the largest and most mately 3.5 million children out of pov- ferson are mainstream academic econo-
intact natural ecosystems in the world. erty; unemployment claims are at a 50- mists who have been nominated as
Yellowstone also has the greatest Governors.
year low; the unemployment rate is at
concentration of mammals among na- Earlier this year, the Banking Com-
4 percent; and nominal wages are rising
tional parks in the lower 48 States. The mittee held hearings on these nomi-
at the fastest pace in decades.
bison in Yellowstone are part of Amer- nees. They demonstrated their quali-
We have also begun investing $1.2
ica’s largest and oldest free-range herd. fications and responded to hundreds of
Today, we carry on a tradition at trillion from the bipartisan infrastruc-
questions. They have met with Sen-
Yellowstone that goes back not just 150 ture law that will help businesses and
ators on the committee individually as
years but over 11,000 years. For thou- the economy in the decades ahead and
well. But on February 15, my Repub-
sands of years, Native Americans have will provide an extraordinary number lican colleagues blocked the Banking
hunted, fished, and used the thermal of jobs. Committee from voting on these nomi-
waters for medicinal purposes. We are not yet out of the woods from
nations. They didn’t show up and vote
The people of Wyoming are rightly the pandemic, and there are critical
no on the nominees whom they op-
proud of the culture, as well as its his- economic challenges we need to ad- posed; they just didn’t show up. They
tory. Today, the park supports thou- dress, including inflation, the lack of decided to skip the meeting precisely
sands of jobs in Wyoming and Montana affordable housing, the high cost of to keep the committee from moving
and Idaho. It contributes greatly to prescription drugs, the need for afford- these nominees to the full Senate.
local economies. able childcare, and others. The Fed They have taken this step during a
Cam Sholly, the superintendent of plays a pivotal role in making sure our pandemic, a bout of inflation, and a
Yellowstone, is doing an incredible job. economy grows on an even keel so that growing, violent conflict in Europe. At
A third-generation Park Service em- we can meet these challenges and re- a time when the Federal Reserve’s job
ployee, Cam goes above and beyond the main the world’s leader. has never been more important, our
call of duty to ensure the park delivers I might add also that this is a very, Republican colleagues have chosen to
a world-class experience to everyone very difficult time for the world econ- stall the confirmations of qualified
who visits. Under his leadership, the omy as we respond to the illegal attack nominees to help lead our economy.
park has hosted record numbers of visi- by Putin on Ukraine. The world, under The Federal Reserve’s monetary pol-
tors. During the height of the COVID the leadership of President Biden and icy decisions are made by the Federal
pandemic, when the only place to go the United States, has imposed unprec- Open Market Committee, also known
was outside, Yellowstone set the stand- edented sanctions. It is in this volatile as the FOMC. The FOMC has 12 voting
ard on how parks should operate. moment that the Fed also will play a members, including all seven Gov-
Health, safety, security, and public ac- critical role. ernors on the Board in Washington.
cess were always a priority. Unfortunately, Republican partisan The others are presidents of the re-
I am very grateful for the dedicated brinkmanship is now preventing us gional Reserve banks. Due to the Re-
leaders and staff at Yellowstone who from having a fully staffed and func- publican boycott, the FOMC is now op-
made it possible for people to visit and tioning Fed, just as Republicans have erating with only nine members—four
enjoy this international landmark. stymied nominations of qualified indi- Governors and five Reserve bank presi-
Recently, the Senate passed my bi- viduals to serve at key posts in the De- dents.
partisan resolution to honor Yellow- fense Department, in the State Depart- The FOMC’s primary job is to estab-
stone on this historic day. This resolu- ment, and in several other Agencies. lish interest rate targets and authorize
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tion celebrates the park’s 150 years of I would note that, at times, we are open market operations to achieve
unique cultural heritage and natural being forced to break filibusters on those targets. This function makes it
beauty. It also encourages people nominations that eventually pass with the most important economic policy-
across America and around the world 70, 80, or 90 ‘‘yes’’ votes. Perhaps my making body in the world.
to visit Yellowstone to experience its colleagues think that these tactics are The FOMC now faces enormous chal-
extraordinary treasures. somehow politically beneficial, but the lenges to bring prices under control
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March 1, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S863
without harming the strong economic doubts about the integrity of the Fed- Markarova was the determination and
recovery. Supply chain disruptions and eral Reserve and its policies. If those courage she and her fellow Ukrainians
the pandemic have pushed inflation up. doubts take root, it will be harder for are showing against Putin. She ex-
Russia’s unprovoked invasion of our Nation’s central bank to support plained to us that Ukrainians are
Ukraine, which many economists ex- the economy. peaceful people, but they will fight.
pect to make supply shortages much In these rather uncertain economic They will participate in the negotia-
worse and cause energy prices to rise, times, the American people need more tions, but they won’t surrender. And
creates huge risks for the global econ- certainty, not less, and they need an they will fight until the Russians
omy. FOMC that is accountable to them. leave. Quite simply, the Ukrainians
These economic challenges collec- I urge my Republican colleagues to might be outmatched by the Russian
tively demand a fully staffed FOMC. allow the Senate to vote on these high- military, but they will not be defeated
Indeed, one of the FOMC’s biggest ly qualified nominees. by it.
strengths is its ability to inspire con- With that, I yield the floor. Here is one of the many acts of cour-
fidence in the United States and in the The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- age and defiance in recent days. In
world. It is able to do this because it ator from Illinois. Odessa’s historic Brodsky Synagogue,
typically works by consensus—con- UKRAINE performers sang a moving 19th century
sensus that reflects the view of its 12 Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, this version of the ancient Jewish hymn
expert members. But when the FOMC evening, the Ukrainian Ambassador, ‘‘Adon Olam’’—now a prayer for an end
doesn’t have its full complement of Oksana Markarova, will be the honored to the invasion.
members and when members are serv- guest of President Biden in the State of And the world is on Ukraine’s side—
ing in an acting capacity, it doesn’t the Union Address. Yesterday, we with rallies of support in all corners of
speak with the same authority. At a hosted the Ambassador for a meeting the globe, Japan, Sweden, Finland, Chi-
moment when there is so much turmoil with almost 25 Senate colleagues. It cago, even in cities across Russia.
in the domestic and global economies, was a meeting I won’t soon forget. Countries like ours are providing ur-
it is reckless to deny the FOMC its full Her country, Ukraine, is facing a bar- gently needed weapons to help Ukraine
membership. baric, unprovoked military assault defend itself against Russian aggres-
My Republican colleagues have spent from Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. sion.
plenty of time talking about inflation The images and the stories are heart- Poland and other Ukrainian neigh-
without offering solutions. Now, when breaking and infuriating—more than bors are helping with hundreds of thou-
presented with a chance to empower 600,000 Ukrainians fleeing to neigh- sands of refugees fleeing in panic and
the FOMC to combat higher prices, my boring countries; brutal destruction, disbelief. Think of it. While we have
Republican colleagues have instead leaving people without homes or power political factions in the United States
chosen to handcuff it. during the winter; and Russian shelling who are determined not to let any refu-
By weakening the FOMC, Senate Re- of residential neighborhoods. We are gees into our country, Poland and
publicans are increasing the odds of a witnessing innocent lives callously other countries—Moldova, Romania,
mistake. That makes it more likely for taken and uprooted. for example—are opening their doors
higher prices to persist, and this out- This is a photo from yesterday’s and accepting the Ukrainian refugees
come is unacceptable when millions of Washington Post. It shows a paramedic to give them some safety and security.
Americans are struggling to cover in- in Ukraine desperately trying to save We must continue and increase all of
creased costs for everyday expenses. this man’s young daughter. She had the help that we can send—military
The American people should not need been a victim of Vladimir Putin’s and humanitarian. Let us be crystal
to bear any further economic hard- shelling in her country of Ukraine. She clear: Putin will not win this. In the
ships, however slight, that could result did not survive. end, the Ukrainian people will prevail.
from Republicans continuing to block Why is Putin doing this? Because his And Putin’s legacy and history will be
these nominees. own petty grievances and warped nos- written in the blood of the children and
Blocking these nominees also robs talgia for the dark days of the Soviet innocents his invasion of Ukraine has
Congress and the public of an impor- Union have taken control. In his twist- spilled.
tant mechanism to hold the FOMC ac- ed mind, an entire innocent nation of NOMINATION OF KETANJI BROWN JACKSON
countable for its decisions. My Repub- 44 million Ukrainians must be attacked Mr. President, yesterday, I spoke
lican colleagues say they are com- and occupied at any cost. briefly about President Biden’s an-
mitted to accountability, but their There is another reason he is trying nouncement on Friday of his nomina-
blockade is ensuring that the five Re- to end Ukraine as we know it. He can- tion to the Supreme Court of Judge
serve bank presidents, who answer to not bear to have a free and independent Ketanji Brown Jackson. Today, I would
the Nation’s commercial banks and are nation on his border because it shows like to offer some additional thoughts
not confirmed by the Senate, are a ma- to the people living in Russia the stark on this nominee.
jority on the FOMC. That means these contrast of democracy versus despotic For those who are less than familiar
five non-Senate-confirmed officials rule. with Judge Jackson, let me tell you a
predominate when it comes to interest This morning, the Human Rights bit about her. Born in Washington, DC,
rate decisions. Council in Geneva met. When Russia’s her mom and dad were public school
Congress promised the American peo- Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov began teachers. When she was 3 years old,
ple an FOMC led by members who ex- his speech, 100 diplomats all rose and Judge Jackson and her family moved
clusively serve their interests. I urge walked out in protest of Russia’s war to Miami, FL, so her father could at-
my Republican colleagues to deliver on on Ukraine. All of NATO and nearly tend law school.
that promise. the entire world are united in outrage Judge Jackson’s father later served
If the Federal Reserve fails to deliver at Russia’s aggression. as the top attorney for the Dade Coun-
maximum employment and stable Mr. Putin should think about the in- ty School Board, and her mother spent
prices, the American people will ques- famy of his legacy. For years, he has 14 years as a high school principal in
tion why. poisoned and suppressed his own peo- Miami. In Judge Jackson’s family, edu-
Reasonable minds can differ about ple. Now he is trying to destroy an en- cation and service were honored.
whether the FOMC ultimately raises tire nation, killing this little girl and Two of Judge Jackson’s uncles were
interest rates too much, too little, or who knows how many other innocent police officers. One became police chief
just enough. Economists are sure to de- people. Mr. Putin will not win this war. in Miami. Her younger brother also be-
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
bate that question in the years to And every day, every hour that Russia came a police officer and a detective in
come. But one obvious conclusion will continues its assault on Ukraine, he is Baltimore, MD, before going on to
be that the FOMC lacked a full com- harming his own people and ensuring serve in the U.S. Army where he was
plement of members to support the dif- that he leaves a legacy of shame. deployed to Iraq.
ficult decisions that it will make this What is also remarkable about the From a young age, Judge Jackson
year. That conclusion will spread meeting yesterday with Ambassador has been recognized as brilliant and
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S864 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 1, 2022
thoughtful. In high school, she was the members of the Senate Judiciary Com- to the Justice she once clerked for. She
class president and the star of the de- mittee, then he made this decision to has proven her intellectual mettle—
bate team. nominate Judge Jackson. from the debate team in high school in
It was during a national high school Every Supreme Court nomination is Miami, to Harvard Law where she
debate championship at Harvard that critically important, but this one has served as supervising editor of the Har-
she fell in love with the university. She special historic significance. In the vard Law Review, to clerkships on the
would go on to graduate from Harvard United States history, our Supreme District of Massachusetts, the First
College and Harvard Law School. Court has had 115 Justices; 108 of those Circuit, and the Supreme Court, and to
She then embarked on an amazing Justices have had one thing in com- an extraordinary record of excellence
and storied career. She practiced law, mon. They were all White men. on the Federal bench.
civil and criminal, at several leading Five of those who served on the It goes without saying that if you are
law firms and clerked at all three lev- Court as Justices were women. Only going to be the first of anything in
els of the Federal judiciary, includ- three have been people of color, out of America, you have got to be the best.
ing—and with some irony—for Justice 115. With Judge Jackson’s nomination, You have got to bring remarkable
Stephen Breyer, the Justice she hopes we have already seen history in the achievements to your aspiration to
to replace. making. If confirmed, she will be the make history. Judge Jackson does
She has also worked as a Federal first Black woman ever to serve on the that.
public defender, served on the U.S. Sen- U.S. Supreme Court. With this nomina- She is a jurist who understands the
tencing Commission, spent 8 years as a tion, Judge Jackson and we have the importance of pragmatism and real-
judge on the U.S. District Court for the opportunity to bend the arc of history world experience. She will draw on her
District of Columbia. She currently toward justice. broad range of experience on the U.S.
serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for In accepting President Biden’s nomi- Sentencing Commission, as a Federal
the DC Circuit, which is often consid- nation last week, she said one of her public defender, as a litigator in civil
ered to be the second most prestigious heroes, another brilliant, trailblazing lawsuits in private practice. Judge
court in our Nation. She was confirmed Black woman, was named Constance Jackson has also demonstrated the pre-
to that position just last year through Baker Motley. Judge Motley was a mium she places on collegiality and
our Senate Judiciary Committee on a champion of civil rights and women’s consensus-building, especially with
bipartisan basis. rights, a key attorney on Thurgood those who may not share her views.
As I noted yesterday, the Senate Ju- Marshall’s side when the NAACP Legal That may be unusual, but it sure is im-
diciary Committee has examined her Defense and Education Fund argued portant in these days.
record three times for three different Brown v. Board of Education and other Judge Thomas Griffith, a conserv-
positions and confirmed her on a bipar- cases which finally ended legal seg- ative jurist appointed to the DC Circuit
tisan basis for all three positions. regation in America. by President George W. Bush, wrote in
She has performed each of these pub- Judge Motley was the first Black support of Judge Jackson’s nomination
lic service roles with distinction. In the woman to ever argue before the Su- to the DC Circuit, and he has written
coming weeks, the Senate Judiciary preme Court. She went on to be the again in support of her nomination to
Committee will undertake another first Black woman appointed to the the Supreme Court.
comprehensive review of her record, Federal judiciary, serving as a U.S. Judge Griffith wrote: ‘‘Judge Jack-
her qualifications, and her approach to District Judge for the Southern Dis- son and I occasionally differed on the
judicial decision making. As chair of trict of New York. best outcome of a given case . . . .
the committee, I am determined to see Judge Motley didn’t know it, but on However, I have always respected her
that this review is careful, fair, and her 48th birthday, a little baby girl was careful approach, extraordinary judi-
professional. born in Washington, DC. She would cial understanding, and collegial man-
I have great respect for her record, grow up to be one of the finest legal ner, three indispensable traits for suc-
and I will be saying more in the coming minds of her generation, and she would cess on the Supreme Court.
days and weeks. For today, I want to be the first Black woman to be nomi- He added: ‘‘Judge Jackson has a dem-
focus on three important points: the nated to serve on the Supreme Court. onstrated record of excellence, and I
President’s selection process, the his- Upon accepting that nomination last believe, based on her work as a trial
toric significance of this nomination, week, Judge Jackson said: ‘‘Today, I judge when I served on the Court of Ap-
and how Judge Jackson will build upon proudly stand on Judge Motley’s shoul- peals, she’ll adjudicate based on the
the honorable legacy of Justice Breyer. ders, sharing not only her birthday, but facts and the law and not as a par-
President Joe Biden is a leader who also her steadfast and courageous com- tisan.’’
respects the Senate. When Justice mitment to equal justice under law.’’ Finally, like Justice Breyer, Judge
Breyer announced a month ago that he And then she added: ‘‘If I’m fortunate Jackson has shown her dedication to
intended to retire, President Biden enough to be confirmed as the next As- the Nation’s founding principles, on
pledged ‘‘to fulfill my duty to select a sociate Justice of the Supreme Court, I and off the bench. She has a deep faith
justice not only with the Senate’s con- can only hope that my life and career, in the power and promise of our Con-
sent, but with its advice.’’ my love of this country and the Con- stitution and an unwavering belief that
The President kept that promise; and stitution, and my commitment to up- we must protect and preserve those
for that, he should be commended. The holding the rule of law and the sacred ideals that set our Nation apart from
process for nominating Justice principles upon which this great nation so many others.
Breyer’s successor has been rigorous was founded will inspire future genera- Last Friday, when President Biden
and bipartisan. It has included the Sen- tions.’’ nominated Judge Jackson, the Senate
ate every step of the way. I want to conclude my remarks by Judiciary Committee, we sent the tra-
Just days after Justice Breyer’s an- acknowledging the extraordinary leg- ditional questionnaire that is sent to
nouncement, the President hosted Sen- acy of Justice Stephen Breyer. It is a nominees and candidates. It was re-
ator GRASSLEY—the ranking Repub- legacy upon which I believe Justice turned to us last night promptly. It
lican on this committee—and myself in Jackson will build if she is confirmed. was lengthy and comprehensive. We
the Oval Office to discuss the nomina- In his time on the Court, Justice have seen much of it before, earlier last
tion. Repeatedly, he said to Senator Breyer has been defined by his rigorous year when Judge Jackson was aspiring
GRASSLEY and to me, ‘‘If you have intellect, his thoughtful, pragmatic ap- to be on the DC Circuit. And it is a
someone you think I should consider, proach to judicial decision making, his great starting point for any Senator or
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
please let me know.’’ And he was sin- collegiality and consensus building, any member of the staff who wants to
cere. and his devotion to the core principles understand Judge Jackson.
Over the next several weeks, Presi- on which America is founded—freedom, She has published over 500—in fact,
dent Biden sought the advice of many liberty, and equality. 573—written opinions. Her background
Senators—not just the two of us—in- By all these measures and more, and thoughts on important issues will
cluding all the members, Democratic Judge Jackson is a natural successor be no mystery or surprise for those who
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March 1, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S865
want to take the time to look at those Kyiv, parliamentarians, young parlia- guided defense budget cuts. You must put
cases. It has been less than a year since mentarians. And our message—my forward a robust, real increase in defense
she was approved here on the floor of message certainly was a hard one. At spending focused on the current and future
readiness and lethality of our force. You
the U.S. Senate, but we are starting the time, the war had not started, but
should also continue to press our NATO al-
this process anew with her visitations we were seeing increasing intelligence lies to meet their two percent of Gross Do-
with Senator MCCONNELL, Senator that it would any day. mestic Product (GDP) goal for defense spend-
SCHUMER tomorrow, as well as myself And the message was, if war comes, ing.
and Senator GRASSLEY. it will be important for the Ukrainian Second, your Administration’s energy poli-
Senators who wish to meet with her people, the leaders, to fight. And we cies—which focus on restricting, delaying,
personally and talk about her positions are seeing that. All across the country, and killing the production of American en-
on any issues or other relevant topics the people in Ukraine are fighting and ergy—have had the predictable but cata-
strophic effect of driving up energy prices for
are welcome to do so. Senator GRASS- willing to die for freedom, for their
American working families, increasing pinks
LEY this morning in the Judiciary country. slips for American energy workers, and sig-
Committee encouraged his colleagues I want to say I think I speak for the nificantly empowering our adversaries, espe-
on the Republican side of the aisle to whole Senate: Watching these acts of cially Putin, who has used energy as a weap-
take advantage of the opportunity if courage and heroism has been truly in- on for decades.
they wish. We want to make sure that spiring, and we all applaud the courage You recently told the American people in a
this is an orderly, respectful, collegial, and heroism that we are seeing in press conference that your Administration
and professional process. Ukraine, and we stand with the people was using ‘‘every tool at our disposal to pro-
tect American families and businesses from
My dearest hope is at the end of the of Ukraine.
rising prices at the gas pump’’ and ‘‘taking
day, she will receive bipartisan support Given the circumstances in Ukraine
active steps to bring down the cost.’’ Mr.
for this nomination. It would be a and across the globe and in our coun- President, respectfully, that is not true and
great day for the Senate, as well as for try, where working families are strug- the facts show it.
the Supreme Court if that happened. gling under increasing energy costs and Time and time again, your administration
But she needs to earn it. And to do it, inflation, I want to talk a little bit has taken steps to unilaterally disarm the
she will be making the rounds in the about the President’s State of the American energy sector. We hope that in
Senate with individual Members mak- Union tonight and what I certainly your address tonight, you make a strategic
hope he is going to tell the American course correction on your misguided energy
ing her case and then appearing before policies that properly reflects your recent
our committee at a later date, which people. promises to reduce energy prices for Amer-
we will announce this week. I and several of my colleagues here, ican families, protect the national security
I want to thank my colleagues for Republican colleagues in the Senate, of the United States, and provide meaningful
taking this as seriously as they should. will be sending a letter to the Presi- support to our allies who are struggling to
It is rare in our Senate career that we dent very soon, urging him to an- meet their energy needs. You can do this
are allowed to bring up the issue of ad- nounce specific actions that relate to through the following actions:
vise and consent to the highest Court an entirely new world with this inva- 1. Rescind your decision to cancel the Key-
sion of Ukraine by Russia and start to stone XL Pipeline and fast-track other simi-
in the land—a lifetime appointment, a lar energy infrastructure projects across the
critically important appointment for announce a course correction on issues country.
the history of the United States and under which the Biden administration 2. Work to rescind the recent decision by
the history of that great Court. has been going the wrong way on two the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
I want to make sure that on the Sen- key, key areas. (FERC) that makes it much more difficult to
ate Judiciary Committee, we are re- Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- approve natural gas pipelines.
spectful and bipartisan in every aspect sent to have printed in the RECORD the 3. Commit to fast tracking and producing
letter to the President. American energy on federal lands, including
of that effort.
There being no objection, the mate- the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife
I yield the floor.
Refuge (ANWR), the National Petroleum Re-
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. MUR- rial was ordered to be printed in the
serve of Alaska (NPR–A), and the Gulf of
PHY). The Senator from Alaska. RECORD, as follows: Mexico, all of which have decades of abun-
UKRAINE U.S. SENATE, dant proven reserves of oil and gas.
Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I Washington, DC, March 1, 2022. 4. Expedite the permitting of critical min-
want to come down to the floor and President JOSEPH R. BIDEN, erals mining and processing, particularly
talk about the issue that is certainly The White House, Alaska’s Ambler Road project, and reinstate
Washington, DC. the leases issued to Twin Metals Minnesota
the focus of America and the world DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: We appreciate your LLC for the northeastern Minnesota mining
right now, and that is Ukraine, and call for Americans to come together in light project.
that is the President’s State of the of Russia’s brutal, unprovoked invasion of 5. Reinstate the January 2021 proposed rule
Union Address, which will be a very Ukraine. We strongly support working with from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of
important one tonight. our allies and partners—one of our nation’s the Currency that would prevent America’s
And I know that Americans all most important strategic advantages—as large financial institutions from black-list-
across our great Nation are glued to well as sending U.S. troops to support and ing whole sectors of the economy and ensure
their televisions, social media streams. defend NA TO allies in Eastern Europe dur- the energy sector has fair access to capital
ing these challenging and dangerous times. and banking service to advance critically
And what we are seeing in Europe is Yet, as our nation prepares for this new era needed energy projects.
quite remarkable, quite unsettling— of authoritarian aggression led by the dic- 6. Direct the Department of Justice to ap-
another major war on the European tators in Russia and China, we have serious peal the U.S. District Court’s decision invali-
continent. We are seeing children in concerns that we encourage you to address dating the Department of the Interior’s
bomb shelters singing the Ukrainian in tonight’s State of the Union and there- Lease Sale 257. Appealing the Court’s deci-
national anthem. We are seeing brave after act upon immediately. sion to block this sale will demonstrate the
First, you must submit a robust military administration’s commitment to continuing
young men and women on the front
budget that significantly increases defense critical offshore development.
lines taking up arms to defend their spending to reflect the realities of our 7. Direct the Department of the Interior to
country. We are seeing grandmothers geostrategic competition with China and finalize a new 5-year offshore lease plan by
take to the streets, foisting upon Rus- Russia. Your Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 budget June 30, 2022.
sian conscripts the seeds of their coun- proposed significant real cuts to the Depart- 8. Use your bully pulpit to encourage—not
try’s flower. One of the most effective ment of Defense when, at the same time, you discourage—America’s financial institutions
acts of resistance I have ever wit- proposed massive increases to almost every to support American energy independence by
nessed. other federal agency and department. Putin investing in American oil and gas.
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
Mr. President, you and many of us and Xi were undoubtedly encouraged that 9. Sanction Russian oil and gas exports to
the President of the United States proposed America and our allies. We have seen a spike
were over in Europe just about a week
significant budget cuts to his own armed in American imports of Russian energy dur-
ago at the Munich Security Con- services. We implore you not to make the ing your Administration. We would replace
ference, where we had the opportunity same strategic mistake again. The FY 2022 such imports, which only empower Putin,
to meet with many of these brave National Defense Authorization Act (NOAA) with increased production of American en-
Ukrainian ministers, the mayor of was a clear bipartisan rebuke of your mis- ergy for our citizens.
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S866 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 1, 2022
10. Issue all pending export licenses and an- and other aggressive actions to crush We had a hearing in the Armed Serv-
nounce an initiative to surge American liq- the citizens of such countries on their ices Committee today. I asked both the
uefied natural gas (LNG) exports to our al- periphery. These dangerous dictators, witnesses what they thought Xi
lies and partners in Europe who are being
Putin and Xi Jinping, are increasingly Jinping and Putin thought when the
blackmailed and are trapped by the whims of
tyrant Vladimir Putin. working together to achieve their ag- President of the United States put for-
11. Terminate the positions of White House gressive goals. ward a budget to cut his own military.
Climate Czar Gina McCarthy and Special We must wake up to the fact, and The witnesses answered today in this
Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, that is what we are calling the Presi- hearing: Undoubtedly, it helped em-
who have aggressively pushed an all-out as- dent to do—hopefully he does in his bolden Putin and Xi Jinping.
sault on America’s energy sector—at home speech tonight—that this new era of So the first thing we are asking the
and abroad—and whose actions are dramati- authoritarian aggression is likely to be President to make clear in his speech
cally weakening America’s geostrategic ad- with us for decades. tonight is that he needs to put forward
vantages. John Kerry’s statements just days What are the areas which we should a robust, real increase in defense
ago clearly portray someone who does not focus on and which we are respectfully spending to make sure we have current
care about the lives lost in the crisis in
Ukraine but rather protecting the climate
requesting the President to focus on and future readiness and lethality of
agenda no matter the cost. In his own words, and announce tonight? Well, first, as I our military forces. Obviously, if you
he said, ‘‘Massive emissions consequences to mentioned, our Nation’s national de- turn on the TV and see what is going
the war, but equally importantly you’re fense. Now, unfortunately, this has not on around the world, this needs to hap-
going to lose people’s focus. You’re going to been a priority of Democratic Presi- pen.
lose, certainly, big country attention be- dents. That is a fact. This has not been The President also needs to continue,
cause they will be diverted, and I think it a priority often of my Democratic col- as every President has done before him,
could have a damaging impact,’’ and ‘‘I hope leagues—some; not all but some. to call out our NATO allies, whom we
President Putin will help us to stay on track Let me just give you some of the are acting closely with right now, to
with respect to what we need to do for the
numbers. In the second term of the meet their obligations that they have
climate.’’
12. Withdraw your nomination of Sarah
Obama administration, the Pentagon’s committed to for years, which is to
Bloom Raskin based on her commitment to budget was slashed by 25 percent—25 spend at least 2 percent of their GDP
reduce American energy projects that would percent. Our military readiness plum- on defense spending.
provide energy to our allies and reduce meted. The good news is, Germany just an-
America’s dependence on Russian oil. When I got elected to the Senate—in nounced that it was going to do this,
It is our sincere hope that you announce many ways, I ran because of these that it was going to double its budget.
these changes in your address this evening. issues in 2014. When I was elected in That is remarkable. That is great
Only then will your promise to use ‘‘every 2015, I was on the Readiness Sub- news. But we can’t have Germany lead-
tool at our disposal to protect American committee of the Armed Services Com- ing on the calls for increasing defense
families and businesses from rising prices at
mittee. The numbers at the time were spending and lethality. The President
the gas pump’’ be fulfilled and our national
security appropriately protected. classified because they were so horren- of the United States needs to do it, and
The American people are looking to their dous in terms of our military’s readi- he needs to do it tonight.
President to rise to this critical moment. ness. Three out of fifty-eight brigade The second issue that we raised in
Our national security, global stability for combat teams of the U.S. Army were at our letter on the critical need for a
ourselves and our allies, as well as the pros- the tier 1 level of readiness needed for strategic course correction with this
perity of every American family are on the deployment—3 out of 58. The Air Force administration is with regard to en-
line. was the smallest and oldest in terms of ergy. Everybody knows it. Everybody
We await your response in tonight’s ad- aircraft age ever, and less than half of feels it. Everybody understands it. Yet,
dress.
the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps’ avia- for some reason—I think driven by the
Sincerely,
DAN SULLIVAN, tion fleet could fly. That was the U.S. far left of the Democratic Party—this
United States Senator. military during the end of the second administration won’t get real on en-
KEVIN CRAMER, term of the Obama administration. ergy.
United States Senator. When you gut defense spending, you Let me talk about that for a minute
ROGER WICKER gut readiness, you gut lethality. because it is a topic I care deeply about
United States Senator. During the Trump administration, and, by the way, have been pressing the
JAMES LANKFORD, when the Republicans had control of Biden administration on since day 1,
United States Senator. the Senate, we worked to reverse this that this is bad for our economy, bad
JOHN CORNYN, dangerous hollowing out of our mili- for working families, and bad for na-
United States Senator.
JOHN HOEVEN,
tary by dramatically increasing fund- tional security.
United States Senator. ing. Many of the areas I talked about What am I talking about? Well, first,
involving readiness and lethality re- it is important to understand what
Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, let President Biden inherited. Over the 4
turned back to the levels that the
me begin with one of the areas of American people expect of their mili- years of the Trump administration,
course correction that we are urging tary. with Republicans in control of the Sen-
the President to undertake, and that is Unfortunately, when the President, ate, we were able to achieve a bipar-
in the area of national defense. President Biden, was elected, he re- tisan goal of American foreign policy
There are many lessons that we are verted back to what Democratic Presi- and energy security that we collec-
going to learn from this Ukrainian in- dents always do: He submitted a budget tively as a nation had been seeking for
vasion, but one of them is certainly that cut defense spending in real decades: American energy independ-
that we have entered a new era of au- terms, inflation adjusted, about 3 to 4 ence.
thoritarian aggression, led by the dic- percent cuts. Before the pandemic hit, the United
tator in Russia—that is Putin—and the What was remarkable, if you looked States was the largest producer of oil
dictator in China—that is Xi Jinping. at the Biden budget, everywhere else, in the world, bigger than Saudi Arabia;
When they sense weakness, particu- it was double-digit increases. You the largest producer of natural gas in
larly military weakness, they are act- name the Agency, it got a double-digit the world, bigger than Russia; and a
ing. increase, with the exception of two: De- leader in producing renewables—all-of-
As I mentioned, this new era of au- partment of Defense and Homeland Se- the-above energy.
thoritarian aggression is something we curity. Budgets are an indication of At the same time, and I really want
need to be ready for. It is led by the priorities, and this President was not my colleagues on the other side of the
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
dictators of Russia and China, who are prioritizing his own armed services. aisle to listen to this, we led the world
increasingly isolated and dangerous. So what we are doing with regard to in terms of major economies on reduc-
They are driven by historical griev- the letter today is asking the President ing greenhouse gas emissions. Since
ances, they are paranoid about their of the United States: You can’t do that 2005, we have reduced these by almost
democratic neighbors, and they are anymore, Mr. President. We are in a 15 percent. No other industrialized na-
more than willing to use military force new era. tion in the world has a record like
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March 1, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S867
that, including our high standards on any U.S. Senator think that makes Work to rescind the recent decision
producing energy. In China, the emis- sense—killing American energy pro- by the Biden administration’s Federal
sions are going through the roof. In the duction in our great Nation and im- Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC,
United States, they are coming down porting hundreds of thousands of bar- that makes it much more difficult to
dramatically because of the American rels more from Vladimir Putin? Be- actually approve natural gas pipelines.
energy revolution. Millions of jobs cause if you do—well, actually, I don’t My understanding is my good friend
were created because of this revolution think anyone thinks that makes sense. from West Virginia Senator MANCHIN is
in energy, in U.S. manufacturing, in But that is what is happening right holding a hearing on this very issue on
energy sectors, and our energy inde- now. In effect, the United States, in Thursday because he knows that this is
pendence significantly enhanced our many ways, along with countries in national security suicide.
Nation’s national security. Europe, is funding the very war that Commit to fast-tracking and pro-
I often recount this story. In a meet- Putin has launched. ducing American energy on American
ing about 4 years ago I had with Sen- The United States still is the world’s lands, particularly where the Congress
ator John McCain—a close friend of largest producer of natural gas, but, has told you to do so, like ANWR in
mine and mentor in the Senate—and a again, due to the irrationality and hos- Alaska, like the National Petroleum
very senior level Russian dissident. At tility toward pipelines, we can’t get Reserve in Alaska—Congress has said
the end of the meeting, I asked this enough natural gas to the Northeast. produce there; that is the law—like the
brave Russian dissident: What more So you see places like Boston import- Gulf of Mexico. We have decades in our
can the United States do to undermine ing LNG from where? Russia. great Nation of abundant proven re-
the Putin regime and to undercut This is insane. This is insane. This is serves of oil and gas. So why are we im-
Vladimir Putin’s malign influence in a colossal, strategic mistake. It is porting so much from Putin right now?
Europe and around the world? Without clearly harming American working This brings me to another request.
hesitation, this Russian dissident said: families. I am sure every Senator hears And this is a request of many Senators,
It is easy, Senator; America needs to about it when they go home. But it is and I believe Democratic Senators
produce more American energy. That is also national security suicide. also. We should be banning the impor-
exactly what we did, and our country It is being done, supposedly, to lower tation of Russian oil into the United
and our allies benefited enormously. carbon emissions, but I want to be States. Canada just announced it was
So what has been the policy of this clear about that, too, because it isn’t. doing it yesterday. Why would we be
administration? From day 1—and I In fact, oil produced in the United importing 700,000 barrels a day of Rus-
mean day 1—1 hour into his adminis- States has lower emissions than oil sian oil when we have millions and mil-
tration, President Biden has inten- produced in most other countries. LNG lions of barrels in Alaska? Can some-
tionally done the opposite. We are not shipped to Europe from the United body answer that question?
going to produce more American en- States has a 41-percent lower carbon I hope the President of the United
ergy, as that Russian dissident told me emission footprint than gas piped in States looks at our letter and recog-
and Senator McCain to do to under- from Russia, and we also have some of nizes these are commonsense ap-
mine Putin. To the contrary, the Biden the most rigorous environmental proaches that are going to be needed to
administration made the conscious de- standards anywhere on the planet in address this new era of authoritarian
cision: We are going to undercut the terms of production. aggression, not just with Vladimir
production of American energy. So, again, the Biden administration’s Putin but with Xi Jinping as well.
Since taking office, this administra- energy policies are strengthening When you look at what the Communist
tion has shut down energy production, Putin, increasing costs and hurting Party fears more than anything, it is
has made it hard to produce on Federal Americans, and are actually doing zero American energy dominance. And yet
lands, has killed energy infrastructure to address global emissions. The only this administration has come in, in
like pipelines, has strong-armed Amer- conclusion I can come up with is the year 1, unilaterally disarmed one of our
ican financial institutions and not in- far left has undertaken some kind of most important strategic advantages
vested in energy here and particularly holy war against the production of in the world.
in places like my State, the great American energy, and it makes no One other thing we mention in the
State of Alaska. sense. letter, which makes so much sense, is
All of this restricting, delaying, kill- So here is what we are asking the to issue all pending export licenses and
ing the production of American energy, President. He gave a speech to the announce an initiative to help surge
driven by a far-left agenda that makes American people the other night where American liquefied natural gas to our
no sense, has had the very predictable he said that he is using all available allies in Europe and partners in Europe
result of what? Catastrophically driv- tools to address these energy chal- who right now are being blackmailed
ing up energy prices for American lenges. With all due respect to the and trapped by Vladimir Putin’s use of
working families—we are seeing that President of the United States, that is energy.
every day; my colleagues know that— not true. The President knows it; his Again, you would think that would
increasing pink slips for American en- team knows it; every Senator here be a no-brainer.
ergy workers. Keystone XL laid off knows it, and the American people And we hope the President looks at
10,000 workers, a lot of laborers. First know it. the American people tonight and goes
day on the job—that was the Presi- So in our letter today that we are through this list of good energy ideas
dent’s call. sending to the President, we are say- that we have given him and says he is
Here is the thing that matters right ing, President Biden, if you want to going to do it—says he is going to do
now: This war on American energy has keep your word to the American people it.
significantly empowered our adver- on what you just told them, ‘‘all avail- The world is reeling right now. Our
saries, especially Vladimir Putin, who able tools,’’ here is what you can actu- country certainly is hurting, in terms
has used energy as a weapon for dec- ally announce tonight at the State of of inflation and many other challenges,
ades. the Union that will have very signifi- many of which are self-inflicted like
Again, I see this every day. Think cant, real impacts on lowering energy the energy challenges. We can take
about this statistic if you are an Alas- costs in America and increasing our steps to strengthen our country. And a
kan citizen. This administration comes national security relative to Putin. strong United States, of course,
up to Alaska and tries to delay and Some of the actions we requested the strengthens the world.
shut down the production of American President to take in the letter we are We have seen this time and time
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
energy. Guess what. At the same time, sending him before the State of the again throughout history. Our country
year 1 in the Biden administration, we Union. is the beacon of freedom and hope, and
are now importing 700,000 barrels a day Simple, rescind your decision to can- the light of that beacon can only shine
of oil from Russia—almost a 40-percent cel the Keystone XL Pipeline and fast- brightly, can only cast light on all cor-
increase in year 1 from the Biden ad- track other similar energy infrastruc- ners of the globe when we are strong.
ministration. Does any American or ture projects around the country. And it shines most brightly when our
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S868 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 1, 2022
citizens are not struggling, but when enablers. We have frozen assets around The Ukrainians are defending their
we have strong communities, strong the world. We have isolated Russia country and have disrupted Putin’s
families, bolstered by good-paying jobs from international organizations and military expectations. These are really
that provide dignity. events. We have restricted airspace to people motivated for the right reasons
Our light of freedom shines most Russian aircraft. All that has been to defend their country, and they have
brightly when our country is on a com- done not just by the United States but been able to do amazing things in stop-
mon mission, and I think the President in conjunction with our allies around ping Russia’s advancements. That is
can call us toward a common mission the world, and it is having a major im- because of the will, determination, and
tonight by listening to some of the pact on Russia. bravery of the Ukrainian people.
things that we as Republicans have im- We have seen unity in NATO. I think They need our help, and they need
plored him to talk about and focus on Mr. Putin thought that his campaign the help of our allies in supplying the
in his speech. in Ukraine would weaken the NATO al- necessary military equipment in order
As I mentioned, as a country, it is liance. It has done just the opposite. It to defend themselves. We know how
important that we wake up to the fact has strengthened the NATO alliance. many Russian tanks are out there, and
that this new era of authoritarian ag- We have sent NATO troops to the coun- we know how many Russian aircraft
gression will likely be with us for dec- tries that border Russia that are mem- are out there. They need anti-tank and
ades. We need to face it with con- bers of NATO to make it clear that we anti-aircraft weapons, and they need
fidence and strategic resolve. understand our collective obligation ammunition. They need a lot in order
Our country has extraordinary ad- under article 5 of the NATO treaty: an to defend themselves, and we and our
vantages relative to the dictatorships attack on one is an attack on all, and allies need to step up to make sure
of Russia and China if we are wise we will come to each other’s mutual they have what they need.
enough to utilize and strengthen them. defense. They also, by the way, need humani-
Our global network of allies, our lethal And we have seen many countries tarian aid. We know that there are al-
military, our world-class natural re- that have been reluctant to get in- ready over several hundred thousand
sources and energy resources, our dy- volved in war-type activities change refugees who have escaped the violence
namic economy, and most important, their position because they realize how in Ukraine and have gone into neigh-
our democratic values and commit- clear it is what Russia is doing violates boring countries. It is estimated that
ment to liberty. every international commitment and number could grow into the millions.
Xi Jinping and Putin’s biggest weak- jeopardizes not just the integrity of We need to work with the international
ness and vulnerability is that they fear Ukraine but the integrity of Europe, community in regard to the humani-
their own people. We should remember the integrity of sovereign states tarian needs of the refugees. We also
and exploit this vulnerability in the around the world. have to realize that Ukraine’s supply
months and years ahead. So let me point out just one of our chain has been totally disrupted. We
I yield the floor. NATO partners, Germany. Germany need to provide humanitarian aid with-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- canceled—put on hold Nord Stream 2. in Ukraine, get it to the border, and
ator from Maryland. We know Mr. Putin has used energy as work with the Ukrainian officials so
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, yester- a weapon. He has weaponized the they can get it inside the country.
day, many of us in the Senate had the source of energy he has in his country. That is our responsibility in order to
opportunity to meet with the Ukrain- He has done that several times. Nord help in this hour of need. We need to do
ian Ambassador to the United States. Stream 2 would give him additional even more than that, and there are ad-
It was an opportunity for many of us wealth and energy—stopped by Ger- ditional steps that we can take.
many. But Germany has gone further We need to continue to ratchet up
to express our admiration for the com-
than that. For the first time, now they the sanctions that are being imposed
mitment of the Ukrainian people to the
are going to be supplying lethal weap- against Mr. Putin and Russia. As I said
sovereignty of their country. They are
ons to Ukraine, recognizing that all of earlier, these sanctions are severe
motivated by the love of their country
us have a responsibility to help today, and we need to consider doing
and a passion for freedom. Their Presi-
Ukraine in its hour of need. more. The administration is already
dent, President Zelenskyy, has shown
And, yes, Germany has now made a setting up a process by which we can
courageous leadership. He has been in-
commitment that we have asked all trace laundered assets so that, when we
spirational as we have watched how he
NATO nations to do, devote 2 percent say we are going to freeze the assets of
has put his own life at risk in order to of their economy to our mutual de- those who are being sanctioned, we will
serve his country. He has put country fense, and Germany is now stepping up find those assets wherever you try to
before personal safety. to meet that 2 percent commitment. hide them. We are going to work with
Ukraine versus Russia, good versus That is what we are seeing from NATO our allies around the world in order to
evil, this unprovoked attack on a partners. make it clear that there is no safe
peaceful sovereign country, orches- Turkey is going to block the use of haven for you to hide your wealth.
trated by Mr. Putin. We are not sur- warships from being able to use its We need to continue to build on indi-
prised. It was widely publicized, the use waters in order to get engaged in the vidual sanctions. We know that. Indi-
of his playbook. We knew what he was conflict; that is, Russian warships. vidual sanctions mean a great deal, and
doing hour by hour in planning the in- We have seen non-NATO countries there are others who need to be sanc-
vasion on Ukraine. It doesn’t diminish step up to the plate. We are very tioned. Yes, I think we need to consider
the tragedy of Mr. Putin’s actions. pleased with the global response, Fin- the oil and gas industry as to how we
This is Mr. Putin’s war, and he must be land’s response, Switzerland’s response. can make it clear that we are not going
held fully accountable for what he has This is unprecedented that we had this to let Mr. Putin benefit from his as-
caused. type of global unity saying to Mr. sets.
I want to thank President Biden for Putin: Stop this invasion, an Trading policies need to be reevalu-
his extraordinary global leadership on unprovoked attack on a peaceful na- ated. A country that invades another
this issue. We have seen unity among tion. Stop it. country without any provocation what-
our alliance, and we have seen global Now, the consequences of our action soever should not be entitled to normal
unity in condemning Mr. Putin’s ac- have had major impact on the Russian trade relations with the United States,
tions, which is so important in order to economy. Their interest rates have and we should be looking at how we
put the right focus on who is respon- gone up dramatically. The value of can enforce those types of changes.
sible and who can end this tragic war. their currency, the ruble, has fallen Yes, there needs to be personal ac-
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
We have imposed the strongest set of dramatically. Their economy is suf- countability. It has now become quite
multilateral sanctions ever on Russia’s fering dramatically. And when the Rus- obvious that Mr. Putin has had no re-
leaders and institutions. We have cut sian people want to know who to blame gard whatsoever for civilian casualties.
off many of its banks from the Swiss as a result of their economy going into In fact, there have been reports that he
system of banking. We have put per- the tank—one person, the person who may have targeted civilians in his ef-
sonal sanctions on Mr. Putin and his caused this war, Mr. Putin. fort to gain control of Ukraine. We
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March 1, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S869
need to make it clear that, if the facts Early in the fight, Russian warships Ukraine, including anti-tank and air
are there, we will pursue potential war called for Ukrainians to lay down their defense capabilities, and the State De-
crimes. No one should escape account- weapons on the small Snake Island. partment has sent millions in humani-
ability. We should hold those who are Ukrainian fighters answered with a tarian aid. We are now seeing an inflec-
responsible for these tragedies ac- bold response that has reverberated as tion point for other countries—a time
countable for them. a sort of drumbeat of defiance across for choosing. Countries like Sweden,
Let me make it clear. As Mr. the country. Since then, we have seen Finland, and Kosovo are all voicing a
Zelenskyy has said, the President of Ukrainians embody determination in desire to join NATO. They are choosing
Ukraine, we will always look for a dip- the face of desperation—all in the to align with the West.
lomatic way to end this war. We want name of freedom and love for their So, in a moment of apparent frustra-
this war never to have started, and we country. A Ukrainian marine sacrificed tion over the past few days, Putin or-
want it to end as soon as possible. We himself to blow up a bridge near Kyiv dered his Russian nuclear deterrent
will look in any way we can for a diplo- so that Russian tanks could not cross. forces to be put on high alert in re-
matic end to this war—preserving the All the while, President Zelenskyy of sponse to what he calls ‘‘aggressive
sovereignty of Ukraine. Ukraine has stayed. He has not aban- statements’’ from NATO leaders and
We recognize that Mr. Putin’s war doned his country, even though he the West’s financial sanctions.
has brought to our attention other knows Putin’s goal is to topple the But I ask this question: Why? Why
issues that we need to really pay atten- Ukrainian Government—all this while were all of these sanctions not pre-
tion to. One is the energy policy of Eu- knowing that President Putin of Rus- sented 6 months ago to possibly deter
rope and the United States. I have sia has sent over assassins to eliminate this aggression and save tens of thou-
heard my colleagues talk about this, him. He planted his feet and squared sands of lives?
but the right answer is energy inde- his shoulders for the fight and is ral- We were late.
pendence, investment in renewable en- lying his fellow countrymen to do the As it currently stands, this is not a
ergy sources, so that we can not only same. fight for American troops, but if a
protect our national security but so Ukrainian citizens are following suit, NATO country is threatened, we will
that we can also protect our environ- showing true bravery in the face of and do need to act. Facts could change;
ment. We need to make those invest- madness. As the Ukrainian Govern- therefore, policies have to change,
ments moving forward so none of our ment began to hand out weapons, thou- which is why we need to continue to
allies ever has to rely upon an auto- sands and thousands lined up to receive impose harsh financial sanctions and
cratic government’s supply of oil or them, men and women. Volunteers, or- project strength during this very ugly
gas. dinary citizens, are adding to the re- situation.
I want to underscore the importance sistance. They are men and women, Another step we must take is to re-
that was brought to our attention yes- young and old, coming from all back- gain energy independence. We import
terday. There was a parliamentarian grounds and walks of life—all to defend nearly 600,000 barrels of oil a day from
from Ukraine who was there who said: freedom and democracy in their coun- Russia. The Keystone Pipeline would
Thank you so much for the Magnitsky try. have provided us 800,000 barrels per
sanctions that you have imposed on in- It is clear Mr. Putin underestimated day.
dividuals because that really hurts. the Ukrainians’ will to fight. While Ahead of the invasion, President
Well, we are proud because it was Ukrainians are handing Russia a tough Biden admitted ‘‘defending freedom
this body that initiated the Magnitsky fight, we know there will be hard days will have costs for us at home here as
sanctions. ahead. Mr. Putin’s rationale for invad- well.’’ The irony is that Americans
Let me remind my colleagues that ing was the ‘‘demilitarization and de- aren’t just now feeling the economic
our law expires at the end of this year. Nazification of Ukraine,’’ arguing that, strain as we begin to ‘‘defend freedom’’
Now is the time to expand and extend if Ukraine joined NATO, the West through sanctions on Russia. Gas
the Global Magnitsky law. We need to would have an excuse to invade Russia. prices began to soar long before Mr.
protect our supply chains. We saw that That is paranoia. That is delusion. Putin waged war in Ukraine. It started
during the coronavirus, but we also That doesn’t sound like a strong lead- with the President’s first day in office
recognize, with supplies in autocratic er. It sounds like a weak leader. Putin when he blocked the Keystone Pipeline
countries, that we need to shore up our was betting that NATO would fold and and undercut our Nation’s energy inde-
own supplies and make them in Amer- that countries would turn against one pendence. Russia ramped up aggression
ica. We have legislation that has another. If anything, Mr. Putin’s bul- against Ukraine at the same time as
passed the House and Senate. Let’s get lying has strengthened NATO. the administration was canceling 80
that bill to the finish line. That would Last week, Germany halted the Nord million acres of oil and gas leases.
be so important for our national secu- Stream 2 Pipeline, and now, in a some- Green policies here at home have
rity. what surprising about-face, Germany is pushed us to seek energy abroad, and
Our immediate priority: Let us all agreeing to send weapons to Ukraine. our country is paying a huge and hefty
stand with the people of Ukraine in This not only frees up other countries price.
their struggle for freedom. They have to follow suit, but it also reverses their President Biden has again admitted
not only our admiration, but they have historic policy of never sending weap- that we might need to dip into our oil
our support. We want to do what we ons to a conflict zone. reserves, but why not dig into the oil
can, and we stand with the people of Over the weekend, the United States reserves—dig our own oil?
Ukraine. joined with the European Commission This is no time to be a purist and
I yield the floor. and Canada, France, the United King- think others can bail us out. The
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- dom, Italy, and Germany to ban select United States of America is an energy-
ator from Alabama. Russian banks from SWIFT. By lim- rich nation, but we must have smart
Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, iting access to this international pay- policies in place to use them.
last week, President Putin of Russia ment system, we move closer to the This is an economic and a national
ordered 100,000 to 200,000 Russians goal of further isolating Russia. Addi- security issue. You cannot have a
across Ukraine’s border. Air raid sirens tionally, the group leveled sanctions on strong economy without low energy
rang out. Bombs rained down. Russia Russia’s central bank—paralyzing as- costs, and ridding ourselves of our reli-
declared war on Ukraine—the first war sets and freezing transactions. At least ance on Russian energy is a matter of
in Europe since 1945. 26 NATO countries have either inde- national security. What happens in
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
Putin’s terror is hard to watch. We pendently issued sanctions or have Ukraine matters, but so, too, do our
have all seen it on television in joined the EU sanctions. actions here at home.
realtime, but it is important we not Since the invasion, the United States So as our country prepares to hear
look away. Amid it all, we are seeing has not only imposed economic and fi- from President Biden tonight on the
examples of heroism and hearing sto- nancial sanctions, but we also author- state of our Union, I urge the President
ries of strength. ized $350 million in new military aid to to project a strong path forward, to
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S870 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 1, 2022
double down on investments in our action was called for before the war thread under Nazi aggression in World
military, and to put forth policies to started, but unfortunately, we have War II.
ensure we regain our energy independ- been playing catchup since it did start. Just as we did in World War II for our
ence. But now, we have a critical task allies in Britain, this bill would ensure
If the state of our Union here at ahead of us. Between this crisis and the that Ukrainian forces and the Ukrain-
home is strong, it will only serve to disastrous withdrawal from Afghani- ian citizenry had the defensive weap-
strengthen our standing abroad. stan stranding thousands of Americans ons, the air power, the ships—whatever
I yield the floor. without consultation or communica- they needed—in order to defend their
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. MAR- tion with any of our NATO allies that sovereignty. It also included security
KEY). The Senator from Texas. were discouraged and shocked to find assistance, as well as sanctions on Rus-
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, Russia out that we would leave them hanging, sia.
is waging war, the likes we have not President Biden has repeatedly given And even though we agreed on a bi-
seen since World War II. They are wag- our NATO allies reason to doubt our partisan basis on the vast majority of
ing war on freedom and democracy. commitment and our credibility. what was being discussed, the adminis-
Over recent days, the world has I am sure Vladimir Putin is taking tration’s oppositions prevented us from
watched in horror as Russian troops notice. I am sure President Xi and the reaching a final agreement.
have invaded and brutally attacked People’s Republic of China has as well. I am disappointed that we were un-
Ukraine and Ukrainians. So far, esti- In fact, Xi Jinping has already ex- able to act and send a strong and
mates are that 350 Ukrainians have pressed approval of the Russian inva- united and bipartisan message as Con-
been killed. We really don’t know what sion of Ukraine. gress to Vladimir Putin, but the fact
the number is, but we do know that Putin has now put Russia’s nuclear that we were unsuccessful then doesn’t
countless civilians have been injured, forces on high alert, threatening to es- eliminate the need for us to take fur-
and more than half a million Ukrain- calate to the unthinkable—something ther action now.
ians, including women and children, that hasn’t happened since 1945—the Thanks to the leadership of the rank-
are now refugees. discharge of a nuclear device. He has ing member of the Senate Foreign Re-
This invasion was not weeks or even also ordered his soldiers to fire on resi- lations Committee, Senator RISCH from
months in the making; this has been dential neighborhoods, a clear-cut ex- Idaho, I was proud to join my Repub-
Moscow’s plan for years. Putin has lican colleagues in introducing legisla-
ample of a war crime.
made no secret of his desire to redraw There is need of decisive action to tion that will kneecap Russia’s efforts.
the maps of Europe and to restore the counter Russian aggression. With the The Never Yielding Europe’s Territory
Russian Empire. That is why in 2008, eyes the world looking at the United Act doesn’t just support Ukraine or im-
Russia invaded the nation of Georgia. States for leadership, it is time for us pose economic consequences on Russia
In 2014, it invaded Ukraine, for the first on counter Russian aggression, it does
to step up in defense of this democracy.
time since the end of the Cold War, all of the above.
President Biden needs to follow
This legislation includes a range of
taking the Crimea region. So the cur- through on his promise to make Putin measures to strengthen Ukraine’s abil-
rent invasion of Ukraine is really the a ‘‘pariah on the world stage.’’ The ity to defend itself, including my lend-
second invasion we have seen from Biden administration has put harsh lease bill. It imposes harsh economic
Vladimir Putin’s Russian Federation sanctions on Russia, but its most valu- consequences on the Russian economy
since 2014. Putin’s appetite has not able asset remains virtually un- through far-reaching sanctions.
been satisfied. If anything, these inva- touched, and that is Russia’s oil and As we all know, Senator MENENDEZ,
sions have made him hungrier for gas sector. the chairman of the Foreign Relations
power. Even as Russia wages a brutal war Committee, and Senator RISCH, the
The people of Ukraine have lived against the people of Ukraine, it is ex- ranking member, negotiated for days
under the shadow of Russian aggres- porting energy to the rest the world and indeed weeks upon weeks, but were
sion for years, and it has always been a and using the profits—$100 oil and unable to come up with a bipartisan
question of when, not if, Russia would higher—to fund the war against inno- package.
finally act. For months, Russia has cent Ukrainian citizens. Sanctions I am especially disappointed that
amassed hundreds of thousands of against banks and oligarchs are cru- today, when Senator RISCH offered to
troops on Ukraine’s border, with num- cial, but we should not ignore Russia’s take up and pass this bill by unani-
bers growing from a few thousand to single largest economic asset. mous consent, that it was blocked by
more than 150,000. The United States must identify one of our Democratic colleagues. I
Defenders of freedom and democracy ways to offset the global demand for wonder what kind of message that
everywhere look to the United States Russian energy, both here at home and sends to Vladimir Putin—not a good
for leadership. But, sadly, they were let with our oil-producing allies abroad, so one.
down. That is because when it comes to we can cut off Putin’s biggest stream America stands with Ukraine, and we
projecting strength to authoritarians of revenue. That would be the biggest must do everything in our power to
like Vladimir Putin and President Xi, and best sanction of all. help Ukrainian forces defend their free-
to the Ayatollahs in Iran and Kim Jong Our friend John McCain used to joke dom and their democracy. Through the
Un in North Korea, the Biden adminis- that Russia was a gas station devastation that we have seen over the
tration repeatedly projects not masquerading as a country to make past couple of days, we have all been
strength but weakness. the point that their oil and gas sector inspired by the strength and courage of
First of all, when it comes to Europe is the single most important part of the Ukrainian people. They are on the
and Ukraine and Russia, President their economy. And yet so far, the U.S. frontlines of the war against our val-
Biden should not have waived sanc- Government has left it relatively un- ues, against their sovereignty, against
tions on the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline touched and unscathed. democracy, and they deserve our un-
last year. He should have never sug- In addition to economic penalties, we equivocal support.
gested that certain Russian attacks must provide additional materiel sup- As the conflict—indeed, as the war—
would be disregarded by the United port for Ukrainian forces to sustain in Ukraine wages on, strong American
States. A minor incursion, he said, their heroic and inspirational fight leadership is desperately needed on a
might be overlooked. against Russian aggression. A few bipartisan, monolithic basis.
And he should have taken swift ac- weeks ago, I began working with a bi- This evening, President Biden will
tion and imposed paralyzing sanctions partisan group of colleagues on a far- have a chance to provide his State of
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
on Russia before—before—an invasion reaching bill to counter this aggres- the Union message, and I hope that he
to give them a taste of what might sion. This package included legislation sends a clear message to the world that
come, in an effort to deter Putin from that I introduced called the Ukraine Russia’s belligerence and hostility will
invading in the first place. And we Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act, not be tolerated. The American people,
should have earlier sent greater defen- reminiscent of what the United States our friends and allies, and our adver-
sive weapons to the Ukrainians. Strong did when Britain was hanging by a saries will be paying close attention,
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March 1, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S871
and President Biden should not pull sis, and that is the crisis at our south- sources, and policies that put an end to
any punches. He should not mince ern border. My State has 1,200 miles of these pull factors, but the administra-
words. He should say that America border with Mexico, and, last year tion has done nothing. The only con-
stands with Ukraine, and we will not alone, we have seen 2 million people clusion I can draw after all this time is
tolerate as civilized nations—as democ- show up at the border, either to be re- they just don’t care.
racies—a blatant attack on a fellow de- turned to their country of origin or, As we head into the spring, which is
mocracy. more likely, to be welcomed into the typically the busiest time at the bor-
In addition to the many challenges United States and be given a slip of der, the Biden administration needs to
abroad, the American people are facing paper that says: Show up for your im- take action. The President cannot con-
the failures of the President Biden’s migration court hearing in a year or 2 tinue to ignore this humanitarian cri-
domestic policies here at home. Fami- years. sis. We need a concrete plan to address
lies are being battered by the worst in- We know that the human smugglers this chaos and ensure that migrants
flation in 40 years, up 71⁄2 percent so far are getting rich smuggling people into are treated fairly and humanely in ac-
this year alone. It is more expensive in the United States. They understand cordance with U.S. law.
Texas to heat your home, to stock your our system. They know how to exploit But, sadly, the border crisis isn’t the
pantry, or fill your gas tank. the flaws in our system, and they are only problem the administration has
I spoke to cotton producers in Abi- getting rich doing so. And by flooding shown complete and utter disregard
lene, TX, just last week. They told me the border with so many people, includ- for. Communities across the country
their single biggest problem is the cost ing unaccompanied children at one are worried about alarming increases
of inputs, of fuel, fertilizer, and other time, it takes Border Patrol off the in violent crime.
things they need in order to grow their frontlines while the drug smugglers This morning alone, we had a hearing
product, their commodity. move their illicit cargo into the United in the Judiciary Committee on
Anyone who has a need to make a big States. And it is those drugs that have carjacking, the violent theft of an
purchase—things like a car or home ap- contributed to the loss of more than automobile using a gun or other weap-
pliances—has likely experienced ex- 100,000 American lives due to drug on to steal it from a person who may
treme sticker shock. overdoses last year alone. be driving their kids to school or to
Business owners, too, have been hit work or to church, only to have their
I want to hear President Biden’s an-
with a double whammy as supply chain car stolen and their life threatened or
swer: Why haven’t you done anything
issues make it even more difficult and taken.
about it? Why haven’t you welcomed or
more costly to produce, sell, and ship In 2020, murders rose nearly 30 per-
asked for the help of bipartisan Mem-
their products. cent from the year before—30 percent—
Wages have increased some, which bers of Congress to try to address this
crisis at the border? the single largest increase on record.
would normally be good news, but wage
Instead, the Biden administration We are still waiting for the rest of the
growth is still being outpaced by infla-
made it worse. They revoked many of data from 2021, but, so far, the picture
tion; meaning that for the average
the policies of the previous administra- is no brighter. A number of major cit-
American family, their purchasing
tion that deterred an influx of migra- ies experienced their deadliest years on
power is shrinking, not growing be-
tion, and they failed to anticipate the record. Of course, this was in the wake
cause of inflation. That means our
obvious consequences. When you lay of this boneheaded idea called ‘‘defund
workers have essentially gotten a pay
cut because of the flawed policies of out the welcome mat on the U.S. bor- the police,’’ which destroyed support
the Biden administration. der, people will come, and they come for the police at the local level and de-
Economists said that if our Demo- not just from Mexico and Central moralized the men and women who are
cratic colleagues had proceeded with America. They come from around the doing their duty in an honorable and
their nearly $2 trillion partisan spend- world. necessary way each and every day.
ing spree at the beginning of last year, I remember early on during the Biden This is the price that you pay for such
that it would cause inflation. I still re- administration talking to the chief of misguided efforts as defunding the po-
member Larry Summers, a Demo- the Border Patrol in the Del Rio Sec- lice.
cratic-leaning economist who served in tor. He said: In the last few weeks, we The American people are paying at-
Bill Clinton’s Cabinet, warning that all have detained people from 150-plus tention, as you would expect. A poll in
of this money that Congress is spend- countries. November found that more than half of
ing—not the money we were spending The reason for that is obvious. Illegal those surveyed believe that local crime
for public health purposes or to miti- immigration is the way that inter- had gotten worse—a 13-percent jump
gate the economic consequences of national criminal networks get rich from the previous year. Concerns at
COVID–19, but the money spent on and do business. And if you have the national level are even higher.
other items in our Democratic col- enough money, they will get you across Nearly three-quarters of Americans be-
leagues’ outbox—he said that we are the southern border, exploiting the lieve that crime is up nationally. They
risking the return of inflation like we laws that we know need to be changed believe that because it is. This is bad
haven’t seen in the last few decades. but we cannot seem to muster the sup- news for families, for communities, for
Despite the warning from people like port from President Biden nor our businesses, and for our dedicated law
Larry Summers and others, our Demo- Democratic friends to fix. enforcement professionals, and the ad-
cratic colleagues forged ahead and now Local governments and my constitu- ministration needs to take action.
America’s working families are paying ents in the Rio Grande Valley and American families are facing a host
the price. along the border, who are largely His- of crises at home, and democracy is
I hope President Biden has a plan he panic themselves, understand the dif- taking a beating abroad. Tonight, I
will announce tonight on how to at- ference between legal and illegal immi- hope President Biden will outline a
tack inflation. But that plan cannot— gration, and they are being inundated clear plan to address these many chal-
cannot—involve his ill-conceived with illegal immigration and the bur- lenges and come up with answers that
‘‘Build Back Broke’’ agenda. This is an- dens that are associated with that. we can work on together in a bipar-
other $5 trillion spending bill that, They are looking to Washington to do tisan way. Trying to do things in a 50–
thanks to bipartisan opposition, did something about it, but those calls are 50 Senate or at the 4-vote majority in
not go anywhere, but which threatened not being answered. So the burden falls the House of Representatives is des-
huge tax increases and huge infla- on State government—Governor Ab- tined to fail, as we have seen time and
tionary spending. This is not time to bott and the Texas Legislature—to try time again. The only way to get things
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
pile on and make the American peo- to step up. But this is the Federal Gov- done in a 50–50 Senate is to work to
ple’s pain worse. We need to do every- ernment’s responsibility, not the State build consensus and get bipartisan sup-
thing we can to reduce inflation, to in- government’s responsibility. Leaders in port.
crease their buying power. Texas have begged the Biden adminis- I hope we will see a midcourse correc-
I would like to also hear the Presi- tration to step up and do its duty. They tion from the administration on these
dent’s strategy to address another cri- have asked for more staff, better re- many challenges that I mentioned
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S872 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 1, 2022
today. I hope the President will finally in a period of morning business, with Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School
acknowledge and commit to helping Senators permitted to speak therein on January 1, 2022.
address the humanitarian crisis at the for up to 10 minutes each. Originally, from Brooklyn, he has
border, which he has ignored for more The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without been a member of the Beth Tfiloh cler-
than a year now. I hope and I trust he objection, it is so ordered. gy since 2010 and is often described as
will send a strong message to the world f ‘‘wise beyond his years.’’ Rabbi Posner
that America condemns Russian action represents the next generation of lead-
and stands with solidarity with VOTE EXPLANATION ership in our community. He has a
Ukraine. The American people deserve Mr. HAWLEY. Mr. President, had keen understanding of where the com-
to hear their President explain his plan there been a recorded vote, I would munity has been and where we are
to address each of these looming chal- have voted no on the confirmation of heading.
lenges, and I hope he doesn’t let them Executive Calendar No. 693, John F. In a recent interview with local
down. Plumb, of New York, to be an Assistant Jmore Baltimore Jewish Living, he de-
I yield the floor. Secretary of Defense. scribed the legacy he has taken on:
I suggest the absence of a quorum. ‘‘One of the main reasons that Beth
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Mr. President, had there been a re-
corded vote, I would have voted no on Tfiloh has been so successful is we have
clerk will call the roll. stayed true to our mission but have
The legislative clerk proceeded to the confirmation of Executive Calendar
No. 694, Melissa Griffin Dalton, of Vir- also adapted to the changing world
call the roll. around us. Rabbi Samuel Rosenblatt,
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask ginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of
Defense. Beth Tfiloh’s founding rabbi, was com-
unanimous consent that the order for
mitted to tradition, modernity, Israel,
the quorum call be rescinded. f
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without education, children and women’s inclu-
objection, it is so ordered. WOMEN’S HEALTH PROTECTION sion. All of those look different today
VOTE ON H.R. 3076—MOTION TO PROCEED ACT than they did 100 years ago, but it’s as-
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I tounding to see that we are still com-
Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I
know of no further debate on the mo- mitted to all of these same principles.’’
strongly believe women should have The other part of this spiritual tran-
tion to proceed to H.R. 3076. the right to choose. That freedom is
The PRESIDING OFFICER. If there sition, along with Rabbi Posner, is
under attack in many States across the Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg, who held the
is no further debate, the question is on country. For this reason, I voted to
agreeing to the motion to proceed. position of senior rabbi for 43 years. He
move to the Women’s Health Protec- will serve in the position of rabbi-in-
The motion was agreed to. tion Act. I will continue to fight to
f
residence through December 2025.
codify Roe v. Wade, as I have since What can I say about Rabbi
POSTAL SERVICE REFORM ACT OF coming to the Senate, so that no mat- Wohlberg? He has been a friend and a
2022 ter where you live in America you can counselor, a leader and guide for Beth
access the full range of reproductive Tfiloh Congregation and Baltimore
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
health care. I know that many Colo- over the course of four decades—for my
clerk will report the bill by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows: radans have a moral difference of opin- family and me as well.
A bill (H.R. 3076) to provide stability to
ion on this matter, and I respect their Through his legendary sermons and
and enhance the services of the United beliefs. In the end, I believe the value community involvement, his moral
States Postal Service, and for other pur- of individual liberty demands that peo- leadership has inspired generations of
poses. ple, not governments, make these most community leaders. For 40-plus years,
AMENDMENT NO. 4955 personal decisions. he has led our community through the
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I have f most joyous and most painful moments
an amendment at the desk. in our lives, and everything in between.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS Through it all, he maintains, ‘‘we are
clerk will report the amendment. supposed to serve God in joy.’’
The legislative clerk read as follows: ---
As for those sermons—on every topic
The Senator from New York [Mr. SCHU- BETH TFILOH CONGREGATION imaginable and then some—they stand
MER], for Mr. PETERS, proposes an amend- SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP TRANSI- as a legacy to Rabbi Wohlberg’s love of
ment numbered 4955. TION scripture, his faith, and the world as a
The amendment is as follows: ∑ Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise whole. In one such sermon, he shared
(Purpose: To modify the deadline for the ini- today in recognition of a rare event ‘‘It is said that actions speak louder
tial report on the operations and financial
happening this Saturday at my home than words. That may be so but words
condition of the United States Postal Serv-
ice) synagogue of Beth Tfiloh in Pikesville, carry a lot of weight. They are what
On page 61, line 18, strike ‘‘240 days’’ and MD. At what is the largest Modern Or- makes us human.’’
insert ‘‘eight months’’. thodox Synagogue in America, with Rabbi Wohlberg also has embodied
ORDER OF BUSINESS over 1,200 members, we will install only the spirit of tikkun olam—repairing
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask the fourth senior rabbi since the found- our world. I want to share one example
unanimous consent that at 12 p.m. on ing of the congregation in 1921. among countless instances of how he
Wednesday, March 2, the Senate pro- In Judaism, a rabbi is a leader or has transformed the lives around him.
ceed to the immediate consideration of teacher. ‘‘Teacher’’ is the literal trans- A half-dozen years ago, Rev. Dr.
Calendar No. 291, S.J. Res. 32. Further, lation of the word. He or she is a spir- Terris King of the Liberty Grace
I ask unanimous consent that the time itual guide for the community through Church of God in Ashburton reached
until 2:30 p.m. be equally divided be- spiritual learning and religious explo- out to Rabbi Wohlberg in fellowship.
tween the leaders or their designees on ration. Our rabbi is an integral part of This was a time when Baltimore was
the joint resolution, and that following all life-cycle and congregational still healing from the death of Freddie
the use or yielding back of that time, events. Gray and some national leaders chose
the joint resolution be read a third Rabbi Chai Posner was selected by a to attack Baltimore for their own per-
time and the Senate vote on the joint unanimous vote of the members of the sonal gain. Rabbi Wohlberg and Dr.
resolution. Beth Tfiloh congregation as the next King connected over faith, shared com-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without spiritual leader of our synagogue in munity and shared history. Barely 5
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
objection, it is so ordered. September 2019, just before the pan- miles separates the two congregations,
f demic transformed our world. While his but as the two clergy have explained:
official installation will take place on ‘‘In some ways, Ashburton and Pikes-
MORNING BUSINESS Saturday, March 5, Rabbi Posner offi- ville are in two different worlds. But
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask cially became the senior rabbi of Beth the reality is, we are next-door neigh-
unanimous consent that the Senate be Tfiloh Congregation and dean of the bors. Maryland’s recently maligned
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