OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Lifting of Sanctions Against Oleg Deripaska

Floor Speech

Date: March 5, 2019
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: National Security Foreign Affairs

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Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the Trump administration's very curious lifting of sanctions against Russian energy magnate Oleg Deripaska.

The President and our allies must strengthen sanctions against Russia, not weaken them.

Russia illegally invaded the sovereign nation of Ukraine and has killed more than 10,000 people, including civilians. She has seized 24 Ukrainian sailors and not released them. Russia cyberhacks our firms and even our democratic election process.

That is why Congress passed significant sanctions in 2017 by an overwhelming majority to raise the costs on Putin's sinister aims. Yet the Trump administration caved to foreign influence and, astoundingly, announced it would lift sanctions on Deripaska.

Madam Speaker, America's first job is to protect liberty. It should not sell off our liberty to billionaires, especially mob bosses who enable cold-blooded murder in Ukraine. It does make you wonder what forces pull the strings of the Trump administration.

The free world must not be soft on the Russian command structure, and I look forward to hearing what additional sanctions our President proposes to replace his ill-advised removal on sanctions.

Stand fast, liberty lovers. Pay attention.

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