Biden Administration

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, the former leader of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin, once said:

You probe with bayonets: If you find mush, you push. If you find steel, you withdraw.

Well, apparently, the current Russian President subscribes to this same point of view. President Putin has made no secret of his desire to restore the former Soviet Union. In 2005, he declared:

The [demise] of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.

``The [demise] of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century,'' he said in 2005.

He went on to say:

As for the Russian people, it became a genuine tragedy. Tens of millions of our fellow citizens and countrymen found themselves beyond the fringes of Russian territory.

So perhaps we should not have been surprised when, in 2008, Russia invaded Georgia--that is, the country of Georgia. Then, when it came to a global response, the Russian President found mush, so he pushed. In 2014, Russia invaded Ukraine for the first time since the end of the Cold War, taking its Crimea region. Once again, President Putin found mush, so he pushed.

Today, more than 100,000 Russian troops are massed along the Ukrainian border. An invasion could happen at any moment. This impending crisis raises a fundamental question for the freedom-loving countries of the world: Will President Putin be met with mush or steel? Will the anticipated cost of an invasion in terms of blood, treasure, and reputation become so high that he backs down or will a muted global response encourage his lust for empire?

In times like these, the civilized world looks to the United States for leadership. Ours may no longer be a unipolar world, with the rise of China and the dreams of empire of the Russian Federation, but our country remains a beacon of freedom, strength, and democracy that serves as an example for the rest of the world.

So the question the world is asking is, Will America still lead? Will we accept our responsibilities under treaties like that of the North Atlantic Treaty, which formed NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization? To be sure, Ukraine is not yet a member of NATO, but will we and the other members allow Putin to dictate membership in the multilateral, rules-based order represented by NATO by threats and force? Will we aid a democracy like Ukraine in its self-defense? These are questions that lie before us, and so far, the Biden administration's response has been less than reassuring.

Last year, the administration waived sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline, giving Russia the green light to continue its monopoly on the energy supply to Europe along with its ability, because of that monopoly, to weaponize energy to an even greater extent.

The administration's response led to a poorly planned and even more poorly executed exodus from Afghanistan, leaving Afghans vulnerable and at the mercy of the Taliban and leaving our friends and allies around the world aghast at the manner in which that exit occurred.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, President Biden suggested that minor incursions--minor incursions--by Russia into Ukraine may be tolerated-- a line that he would later, thankfully, walk back.

President Biden has given our allies multiple reasons to doubt the resolve and credibility of the United States as that leader of the free world. Whether out of naivete or idealism or just error of judgment, it doesn't change the fact that President Biden has repeatedly projected a lack of decisiveness and weakness, and Putin, you had better believe, has taken notice.

As it stands today, the international response to Russian aggression is disjointed and disorganized at best. France is all in on diplomacy. The United Kingdom is offering clear but limited military assistance. Germany, unfortunately, seems to support appeasement. The United States and the rest of the world are waiting for President Biden to step up to the challenge.

I believe we have a responsibility to stand with Ukraine and help its people defend its sovereignty and its democracy. Now, that doesn't mean having American troops on the ground, but there are other ways we can help Ukraine defend itself and raise the costs of a threatened Russian invasion into their country. Forceful language and threats of sanctions may be important, but they are clearly not enough. We need to take concrete steps to minimize the likelihood of a Russian attack and ensure that Ukraine, as I said, has the resources they need in order to defend themselves in the event of an invasion.

There is a historical parallel. During World War II, President Roosevelt recognized how critical it was for the United States to support Great Britain even at a time when the American people were isolationists and when America's official policy was neutrality toward the war in Europe. President Roosevelt recognized it was important to do what we could to support Great Britain during its hour of need, when it was literally hanging on by a thread, because it lacked the resources it needed to protect its people and fend off German forces. So President Roosevelt vowed to transform the United States into what he called the arsenal of democracy and worked with Congress to devise a creative solution that later became known as the Lend-Lease Act. This legislation, signed into law in March of 1941, allowed the United States to supply our allies with weapons, ships, aircraft--any materiel they needed in order to mount their defense at a critical time in the war in Europe.

Later that year, Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister, said the bill ``must be regarded without question as the most unsordid act in the whole of recorded history.'' Now, Winston Churchill certainly had a way with words, and when he calls it an unsordid act, I guess today we would say it was the most selfless and unselfish act in the whole of recorded history by the United States of America.

The circumstances today are not those of March of 1941. There is no mistake about that. Yet, if you look back at the historical parallels-- at the circumstances in 1939, when Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia for similar reasons for which Putin is claiming he has a right to invade Ukraine--they are chilling. If we had stood up to Germany then, we might have avoided a global calamity and prevented the loss of millions of innocent lives.

So what best to inform our actions today but the experience of the past, to correct our mistakes, and to duplicate the successful efforts in World War II or at other times in our history. The lessons of the past must inform the present, and I believe we still have a duty to lead when it comes to protecting democracies and freedom-loving countries around the world.

Once again, America can now become that arsenal of democracy for Ukraine. To that end, I have introduced bipartisan legislation called the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act to ensure that Ukrainian forces have the resources they need to deter and defend against Russian aggression.

I am proud to have worked with senior members of the Armed Services Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee--people like Senators Cardin, Wicker, Shaheen, Graham, Blumenthal, Sullivan, and Hassan--on this legislation, which will give the administration and give President Biden more flexibility and more efficiency when it comes to being that arsenal of democracy for Ukraine.

As it stands today, the President of the United States has a menu of options to support our friends and allies in times of conflict. In some cases, like the loan of equipment, the United States could eventually retain end use. In others, this would make clear we would support grants or emergency aid where we would not recover the funding or assets sent to our allies. This bill provides an additional option on the menu, allowing the United States to provide assistance that may otherwise be unfeasible unless we could retain end use. This legislation authorizes the President to enter into lend-lease agreements directly with Ukraine and provide the military equipment necessary to protect the Ukrainian people.

My hope is that this will send another message to Vladimir Putin that not only do you need to consider the statements and actions of the executive branch but that you also need to look at the bipartisan support that Ukraine is getting in the U.S. Congress--tangible support--in terms of weapons they can use to deter and, if not to deter, to defeat Russian aggression. Russia must know that an invasion would be met with steel and not mush. If Russian troops make the decision to move forward, Ukrainian forces would have the lethal weapons needed to defend their sovereignty. I am proud of the fact that this effort does have such strong bipartisan support, and I hope more of our colleagues will join us in this legislation.

This is one important way we can send a message to our friends and allies around the world that you are not alone, that America can be trusted, that our commitments are credible and they will be met not just with words but with action.

Thanks to the leadership of Chairman Menendez of the Foreign Relations Committee and Ranking Member Risch, I have been proud to work with this bipartisan group of colleagues to discuss not just this lend- lease legislation but a more comprehensive approach to counter Russian aggression. We have discussed the lend-lease bill, as well as additional security assistance and lethal aid for Ukraine.

The group is currently crafting a package of targeted sanctions, as well, meant to deter Russia from invading. It includes limited but immediate sanctions in response to ongoing aggression and, in particular, cyber attacks, which were a new domain unknown in World War II but which are very real in 2022.

Russia cannot operate under the illusion that it will only receive a slap on the hand for invading Ukraine. I will leave it to the chairman and ranking member to make announcements about this legislation, but suffice it to say that I am encouraged that bipartisan progress is being made.

We agree on the outlines of what is being discussed, and we are committed to striking a deal as quickly as possible because time is of the essence. Nobody knows, except Vladimir Putin, when he will order the invasion of Ukraine. But make no mistake, America stands with Ukraine, and we will do everything we can to help them defend themselves against an invasion by the Russian Federation.

This is not just a Ukraine problem. This is not just a Europe problem or a NATO problem. The potential for escalation makes this a global security problem. Russia didn't stop after Georgia or Crimea, and it likely will not stop after Ukraine.

We are confronting the scope of Russia's power and influence on the global stage, and America's leadership, as always, is absolutely crucial.

The United States has a responsibility to promote peace and security around the world. If Russia invades Ukraine and America does nothing, we show the world that our position can't be trusted, that our promises to our allies are not credible, and we also show that we will sacrifice the lives and the treasure of freedom-loving countries like Ukraine to the biggest bully on the continent.

A shifting global order would send a signal to other countries, as well--not just in Europe but around the world, in places like China and Iran--that all bets are off. They may be incentivized to mount similar pressure campaigns and not fear retaliation by the United States and our allies. If that were to happen, America would no longer be the global superpower. We would suddenly become a regional power with mere aspirations and no global reach.

Make no mistake, an attack on Ukraine is also an attack on America's global security interests and on world peace and could have cascading consequences that right now are too horrible to contemplate.

This is an existential threat to our leadership in the world and to the global order we underwrite and to our way of life and the way of life for freedom-loving democracies around the world. A Russian invasion of Ukraine is far more existential than a mere isolated and faraway quarrel.

I appreciate the hard work of Senators on both sides of the aisle to develop this response--this strong response--to Russia's threatened aggression. We need to do our part to ensure that, when Russia probes with bayonets, it shall be met with steel.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source