S. 3436
Floor Speech
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Mr. RISCH. I think it was just a minute or 2 for you and the rest for me, Senator.
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Mr. RISCH. I would ask for 5 minutes for myself and 10 minutes for yourself. Is that sufficient?
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Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, fellow citizens, I rise today to speak on behalf of the Cruz-Risch Nord Stream 2 bill, which is designated as S. 3436. To start with, it is important to note that this bill has language which is almost identical to the bipartisan language that was contained in the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act. Both bodies passed this language. It was, unfortunately, taken out in the conference of that bill before it went to the White House. But now, this language is back before us in this bill. And what it would do is it would immediately sanction Nord Stream 2--Putin's premier energy weapon against Europe and Ukraine, particularly.
The timing could not be more important. Ukraine stands on the brink of invasion, and Europe is in the throes of an energy crisis created by Russia. There is a reason Ukraine's President Zelensky tweeted an urgent request in December for all friends of Ukraine and Europe in the U.S. Senate to back these sanctions. That request is before us at this moment.
We are now seeing the consequences of the administration's decision to waive P.E.E.S.A. sanctions and the refusal to impose CAATSA sanctions. Months ago, the administration set the stage for this mess on Ukraine's border and emboldened Putin.
Russia has deliberately cut gas transmission to Europe through Ukraine and is using high energy prices to pressure the European Union into approving Nord Stream 2 as quickly as possible. Putin has publicly stated that fact.
Meanwhile, Russian forces continue their buildup along the border with Ukraine in preparation for what could be a full-scale invasion. Clearly, the administration's efforts have failed to signal credibility and resolve and have not deterred Putin from continuing along the path to war.
U.S. diplomacy needs additional action, not just rhetoric, to stop a Russian invasion. And these sanctions would provide that by putting Congress in charge of waiver authority. A vote for these sanctions will provide credibility to our threat, sending a strong message to Putin.
Remember, Nord Stream 2 is designed to replace Ukraine's gas transit system, meaning Russia no longer has to worry about destroying its own infrastructure in the event of a full-scale war. We must not allow Putin's blackmail to succeed.
Nord Stream 2 has always been a bipartisan issue here in the Senate, and it should continue to be. Not a single Member of Congress supports the completion of this pipeline. I would like to think a similar number of us feel we should not ignore our friends in Europe, particularly Central and Eastern Europe, who stand to lose the most from Nord Stream 2.
Our bill would impose mandatory sanctions against Nord Stream 2 AG, the company responsible for the project, as well as the companies involved in testing and certifying the pipeline before it becomes operational.
We do provide the administration with a pathway to lifting these targeted sanctions, pending congressional review. This pathway is the exact same process for congressional input that 98 Senators voted for in CAATSA, just a few years ago. The time to act is now. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill.
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise today to condemn the enormous Russian military buildup on the Ukrainian border, and the Kremlin's reckless policies of coercion as it seeks to reimpose a new iron curtain on the European continent. Moscow wants to secure an unwarranted sphere of influence that would enable Russia to determine by fiat the fate and the policies of other sovereign state--most immediately in Ukraine, whose people and government desire further integration into Europe and trans-Atlantic institutions
Make no mistake about it--the Putin regime's actions threaten not only our friends in Ukraine. They are also an assault on the principles of the Helsinki Final Act, the foundation of European security, which today is enshrined in the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe, the OSCE.
I want to commend President Biden and his very capable diplomatic team for the sustained effort they have embarked upon to rally our friends and allies--in NATO and the European Union and across the OSCE--to present a united front against Vladimir Putin's mounting aggression.
Russia has in recent months amassed over 100,000 troops and heavy weaponry on Ukraine's borders, with many more poised to join them, and have openly threatened war if its demands are not met. The Kremlin is also waging a propaganda war preparation strategy for the Russian people by broadcasting false claims that Ukraine poses a threat to Russian interests and sovereignty.
At the barrel of a gun, the Kremlin has demanded not only that the United States and NATO close its open doors to partners like Ukraine and Georgia--a strategic nonstarter on its own--but also that the Alliance security umbrella and even material security assistance be retracted to pre-l997 borders, essentially reducing NATO to its frontiers as of 1991.
In other words, Mr. Putin insists that the United States and its Euro-Atlantic allies remove any means of securing or guaranteeing the defense of sovereign states that happen to lie near Russia. Such demands are outrageous, dangerous, and impossible to accept.
In this troubling time, acquiescence to Russian aggression is not an option. I support this administration's approach to unite with our European allies and categorically refuse to give into the Kremlin's ruthless militarism. I also support negotiating in good faith to see if we can find a realistic solution with respect to arms control, confidence-building measures, and the like--while making it clear to Mr. Putin that the freedom and sovereignty of Europe are not on the table.
The diplomatic engagements that have taken place in Europe in recent days, in several concentric circles, have demonstrated remarkable unity among our allies, and have clarified for Russia the costs they would incur in the event of any further aggression against Ukraine.
This is thanks to the Biden administration's sophisticated campaign to reclaim American leadership in world affairs.
One hopes the Kremlin has heard the messages that we and our allies have sent to Moscow. Under the looming shadow of Russian mass mobilization and martial rhetoric, however, we should suffer no illusions. Mr. Putin's goal is domination, and there is no room to give on that score.
Unfortunately, we find ourselves here today on the floor of the United States to consider a measure, which the Senator from Texas has introduced, that threatens to undermine the American effort to mobilize the Western world's coalition to stand up to Russia at this critical moment. We are here to debate, yet again, how to deal with Nord Stream 2, the ill-conceived natural gas pipeline between Russia and Germany that promises to weaken Ukraine's economic and security situation while it strengthens Russia's leverage over Western Europe.
In the ll6th Congress, we voted to condemn and to sanction those involved in this misbegotten enterprise--most importantly in the Protecting Europe's Energy Security Act, ``PEESA'', enacted in January 2021. This law imposes strong sanctions on all those involved in the construction and operation of the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline. As is customary and appropriate, the Congress also gave the Executive the authority to waive sanctions against individuals and entities when it determined to do so would be in the national security interest of the United States.
Last spring, the administration chose to exercise that walver.
I disagreed with that decision. I have said so many times and in many contexts. I retain the hope that the pipeline will never begin operations, as I believe it would do enormous damage--not just to Ukraine--but also to Europe at large.
The administration is focused on working with Germany to implement the July 21 Joint Statement of the United States and Germany on Support for Ukraine, Energy Security, and Our Climate Goals, which includes clear commitments to act if Russia attempts to use energy as a weapon or commit further aggressive acts against Ukraine.
Let us be clear that the bill before us would not actually accomplish what the Senator from Texas claims. It would not stop Nord Stream 2 any more than existing law does. It would not protect Ukraine any more than existing law and policy does. All this bill would do, essentially, is create a 90-day recurring cycle of revisiting the administration's exercise of the waiver authority we wrote into the law last year. And then it would create the option for a vote on a resolution of disapproval of that waiver.
At a time when we should be using our time and energy to address the mounting threat to Ukraine posed by Russia's massive buildup along their shared border, today's vote is an unnecessary distraction. Therefore, I oppose S. 3436.
The Senate should be considering serious proposals to counter Russian aggression. The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has introduced a bill that is worthy of our time, attention, and support. The Defending Ukraine Sovereignty Act is a serious effort to address Russia's aggression toward Ukraine, which is why I am an original cosponsor of this measure.
If the President affirmatively determines that Russia has engaged in a renewed invasion or escalation of hostilities, the Defending Ukraine Sovereignty Act triggers a cascade of mandatory sanctions on Russia's political and military leadership, financial institutions, extractive industries--and Nord Stream 2.
As chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission and a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I am especially mindful and concerned about what Russia's actions and demands mean for European and international security, as well as democracy and human rights.
It is no mistake that Mr. Putin's war drums have been accompanied by a concerted regime effort to erase and rewrite the Soviet Union's cruel history; including smothering the domestic human rights network Memorial, which has so carefully and painstakingly chronicled the Soviet Union's brutal human and social toll on the people of Russia and the former Soviet Union.
Russia's intervention to suppress popular dissent and prop up the authoritarian regime in Belarus tells a similar story. Its deployment of troops just last week under the umbrella of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the CSTO, to quell public unrest in Kazakhstan-- the first time the Russian-controlled CSTO has intervened militarily in a crisis in a member state--also serves to expand Russian influence in the region. The CSTO deployment has raised concerns among some of the Kazakhstani public, which may help to explain why the troops have started withdrawing today. The rapid deployment, however, certainly makes the government of Kazakhstan more beholden to Russia. It weakens Kazakhstan's often-touted ``multi-vector'' policy under which it aims to balance its relations with Russia, China, and the West.
The Putin regime has erected a corrupt police state at home, which it aggressively exports for greater dominion.
A broader Russian invasion of Ukraine could easily lead to tens of thousands of deaths and threaten tens of millions more. Preventing such an outcome should be our paramount concern. Peace on Russia's stated terms would consign millions of free peoples to the Kremlin's authoritarian whims, and would shatter the fragile miracle of European peace and prosperity.
I believe we must present a strong, determined, and unified response that makes clear that Russian aggression will only further unify the continent, and complicate the Kremlin's security anxieties.
At the same time, the United States is willing, with its partners and allies, to work toward listening to the Kremlin's legitimate security concerns. Here, too, is an opportunity to make use of the OSCE's institutional powers to build consensus and lay the foundations for a durable peace.
I ask my colleagues to join me in condemning Russia's military buildup and aggressive posture in the region, and calling for Moscow to de-escalate immediately and negotiate in good faith.
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