Motion to Discharge

Floor Speech

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Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, many Americans are watching the news, reading the newspaper, watching cable news, and they are seeing the Russian buildup of troops on the border of Ukraine.

So I thought what I would do is take just a few moments to speak about what is at stake in Ukraine. Why should Americans care, and what should we do in response?

Tensions along the border are high. Shuttle diplomacy is occurring and is the order of the day. But more than 100,000 Russian troops are in position should an invasion of Ukraine be ordered by Russian Federation President Putin.

Reports indicate that Russia has created a graphic propaganda video, something called a false flag operation, to serve as a pretext for invading and cyber attacks like those that might precede a planned invasion are already underway.

Not surprisingly, the Kremlin is engaging in a disinformation campaign, making every attempt to blame the United States--or any other country for that matter--for its own aggressive actions.

This kind of gaslighting might work in a totalitarian state, but in the rest of the world, where we have access to more complete and accurate information, we know better. There is no question that Russia and Russia alone is responsible for the military buildup on Ukraine's border and is also threatening peace in Europe.

As Frederick Kagan, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, has written:

This isn't primarily a Ukraine crisis. It's a Russia crisis. More precisely, [it is] a Putin-created crisis aimed at destroying [the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, otherwise known as] NATO.

It's Putin's attempt to drive the [United States] and its West European allies to put ourselves in a time machine, [to] abdicate our alliance obligations, expose countries previously occupied, brutalized, and exploited by the Soviet Union to Putin's continued aggression, demonstrate our unreliability as partners, and show our unseriousness about defending our own vital national security interests. In return for a promise of nothing at all.

The United States has played no part in creating this crisis, but I do believe we have some responsibilities--not just a treaty obligation to our NATO allies--because Ukraine is not yet a member of NATO, so that obligation under article 5 does not apply to Ukraine, as I will discuss in a moment.

But I do believe that we have a responsibility to support the Ukrainian people as they fight to defend their own sovereignty, despite the fact that they are not members of NATO.

With so many challenges on the home front, though, and around the world, it is easy for folks in Texas or Massachusetts or anywhere else around the country to wonder, why should we care what is happening in Ukraine? Americans are experiencing the highest inflation in 40 years; there is growing concern about violent crime; we have a humanitarian crisis on our southern border; and let's not forget the ongoing fight against the pandemic. We know families are struggling to face the challenges right in front of them, let alone those on the other side of the globe.

Americans want to know, how does a conflict on the other side of the globe actually impact the United States and, importantly, why should we help? I think those are fair questions. The human and financial costs of armed conflicts are very high. And we have learned the painful lesson during many times in our Nation's history, twice in the last century in Europe alone, where there were World Wars centered.

But we also know how much the free world depends on the United States and its leadership and strength to provide stability and prevent wars and promote peace, if we can, while safeguarding freedom and democracy around the world.

The United States is a global power, but we are no longer the only one. That day has passed. Our leadership role and responsibilities in a rules-based international order were earned by the sacrifices of generations of Americans who defended our freedoms and our way of life and those of our allies.

Believing, as Ronald Reagan said, that peace comes through strength, America's role in the world has been achieved by our military might, by our strategic alliances, our commitment to free markets and trade around the world that have produced the economy that has allowed us to defend ourselves as well as an unwavering dedication to our values. And whether we like it or not, our unique role in the world brings with it certain responsibilities.

We can't give anyone--adversary or ally--a reason to doubt our commitment to freedom, peace, stability, and security. Unfortunately, our reputation for reliability has suffered some damage recently. The botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, for example, caused our NATO allies to doubt the future of American leadership and our commitments under the North Atlantic Treaty.

Our friends and adversaries alike are wondering if the Afghanistan debacle is a one-time misstep or the beginning of dwindling U.S. commitment and power. Of course, Mr. Putin and Mr. Xi will not miss an opportunity to disparage America's credibility as a reliable ally.

Our urgent task, by our actions as well as our words, should be to convince friend and foe that we will remain a credible friend and ally.

But either way, Putin is an opportunist, and today the eyes of the world are on the United States to see how we will respond to this threatened Russian aggression. Will we stand strong in support of Ukraine or will we sit passively on the sidelines?

Make no mistake, Russia is doing far more than just threatening Ukraine. President Putin told the world in a speech in 2005 that the collapse of the Soviet empire--the Soviet Union--was what he called ``the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.'' That is his mindset.

Putting that empire back together was clearly on his mind when Russia invaded the nation of Georgia in 2008, formerly part of the Soviet Union, and when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, also part of the Soviet order.

And, of course, we can be confident this is foremost in his mind as he threatens to invade Ukraine, another country that used to be part of the Soviet Union.

So Putin is trying to get away with as much as he can, and it would be naive to think that he will stop at Ukraine.

If the United States fails to support Ukraine at this pivotal moment, other authoritarian governments, like those in China and Iran, will take note.

Today's New York Times had a story that said, ``Both Sides of the Taiwan Strait Are Closely Watching Ukraine's Crisis,'' in other words, the People's Republic of China--mainland China--as well as Taiwan, the independent democratic state right across that thin band of water known as the South China Sea.

Here is what one of the representatives of Taiwan said in this article. He said: ``If the Western powers fail to respond to Russia, they do embolden the Chinese thinking regarding action on Taiwan.''

So this is not just about Ukraine. This is not just about Europe. This is about America's credibility and that of our friends and allies around the world and our willingness to stand up for our values and defend our freedoms.

If our adversaries see that the United States responds merely with passivity or words, they too will inevitably see opportunities for them to exploit. That would risk further geopolitical instability and the cause of peace. It would inevitably diminish America's leadership position in the world, the global order of which we are what Elbridge Colby has termed the ``cornerstone balancer,'' a powerful country anchoring the coalition of freedom-loving nations.

So, yes, Ukraine is on the frontlines of the current crisis, but the security of Europe is also in question. The reach of Russia's aspirations for reestablished empire are, as well, and, as I said, there are global repercussions to however we choose to respond.

I am not suggesting that President Biden send American troops to Ukraine. I want to be clear on that point. I know of no one calling for American troops to be deployed to Ukraine.

There are, however, concrete steps we can take to help Ukraine defend itself without putting American lives on the line, and, fortunately, there is precedent for that.

In the early 1940s, Nazi Germany was making dramatic advances across Europe, and Great Britain was being pummeled by the blitz, a bombing campaign by the German air forces. While Britain was hanging on by a thread, Prime Minister Churchill asked President Franklin Delano Roosevelt for help from the United States.

This ultimately resulted in a very creative and successful solution known as the Lend-Lease Act. In the words of President Roosevelt, this legislation transformed the United States into the ``arsenal of democracy'' by supplying Great Britain with the materiel it needed to fend off German attacks.

He compared it to lending your neighbor a garden hose if his house was on fire. It wouldn't just protect the neighbor's home; it would protect your home as well.

Congress and the American people agreed with President Roosevelt's logic, and this legislation was signed into law in March 1941.

Soon after, American warships, aircraft, weaponry, oil, food, and other critical resources made their way across the Atlantic to Allied forces fighting against Germany.

I think this is part of the response we need to provide today to provide the Ukrainians with the ability to defend themselves under a modern version of the 1941 Lend-Lease Act.

With the inspiration of President Roosevelt in the 1941 act, I have worked with a number of my colleagues--Republicans and Democrats alike--to draft a 2022 version of that legislation, called, not surprisingly, the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act, which will ensure that Ukrainian forces and the Ukrainian people will have what they need to deter and defend against Russian invasions.

As it stands today, the President of the United States has a menu of options to support our international friends in times of conflict. In some cases, such as the loan of equipment, the United States will eventually retain end use. In others, such as grants and emergency aid, we do not recover the funding or the assets sent to our friends.

This bill would provide an additional option to that menu, allowing the United States to provide assistance that may otherwise be unfeasible unless we could retain end use.

This legislation would authorize President Biden to enter into lend- lease agreements directly with Ukraine and provide military equipment necessary to protect the Ukrainian people.

In an ideal world, access to this materiel will help the Ukrainians defend themselves and deter Russia from mounting an invasion in the first place. Knowing that Ukraine has access to the ``arsenal of democracy'' could help prevent Putin from risking a deadly war. But if Putin makes a bad decision to move forward, Ukrainian forces will have the lethal weapons that they need to defend their sovereignty.

They will also have the support of the United States and our NATO allies.

In the Senate, there is clear support for this sovereignty of Ukraine, and I am glad to have worked with my colleagues on this legislation that includes this lend-lease component.

I want to thank Chairman Menendez and Ranking Member Risch on the Foreign Relations Committee and a larger bipartisan group of our colleagues who have been working on a comprehensive approach to counter this threatened aggression by Russia. We have discussed my lend-lease bill, as well as additional security assistance and lethal aid for Ukraine. And, as we have read, Senator Menendez and Senator Risch are negotiating a limited but immediate sanctions response to this aggression, including cyber attacks, as well as the threat of additional sanctions in the event of an invasion.

As the chairman and the ranking member have said, negotiations are making some progress, and I hope we can wrap things up quickly and bring the bill to the Senate floor without much more delay.

The fact is, we are racing against the clock. Putin could invade Ukraine at a moment's notice, and he is not going to wait on the U.S. Senate to act. That is why time is of the essence.

Ideally, the lend-lease agreement, military assistance, sanctions, and other provisions included in this package will cause Putin to think twice about invading. But that can only happen if we act before Putin acts.

So the clock is ticking, and we need to move. I am encouraged by the bipartisan support we have seen for Ukraine and for this effort, and I hope we can take action soon to reaffirm America's position as the lead defender of global peace and security.

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