Broad-Based Sanctions Are Economic Warfare

Floor Speech

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Ms. OMAR. Madam Speaker, I rise today in solidarity with the Ukrainian people who are facing a cruel and inhumane war of aggression from a tyrant, Vladimir Putin.

I also stand in solidarity with my Ukrainian-American constituents whose friends and families are in harm's way.

We must address this war with courage, foresight, and humility. I am appalled by the extraordinary cruelty of Putin's war. I am also moved by the courage of the Ukrainians and also by the courage of the antiwar protesters in Russia, risking 15 years in prison for speaking out against Putin's aggression.

We must stand unified with the Ukrainian people. But even as we stand with the Ukrainian people, we must avoid the knee-jerk calls to make this conflict even worse.

One thing we should have learned throughout our history is that policy decisions we make simply based on fear or rage rarely end well. Increasingly, we are hearing voices calling for the United States and NATO to enter into war with Russia. For the most part, they are not saying this directly. They are using euphemisms like no-fly zone.

A no-fly zone is not simply declared. It must be militarily enforced. As the President said, a no-fly zone would mean the United States entering the war. It would mean the beginning of World War III.

We must reject this completely. The stakes are incredibly high. There has never been, on this Earth, a war between two or more nuclear powers.

There is a reason for this. Even in the madness of the Cold War, leaders around the world understood that nuclear war would mean the annihilation of humanity.

There are voices now that are shockingly casual about the risk of nuclear war. I am asking the American people to not believe them. Do not believe them when they tell you that it is going to be limited. Do not believe them when they tell you nuclear winter isn't real, or it isn't that bad. They don't know that. They can't know that.

Aside from the very real risk of nuclear escalation, we have placed the strictest sanctions in history on Russia with no clear off-ramps or criteria for lifting them.

What is clear is that broad-based sanctions will be devastating for civilians. What is less clear is that Putin or his inner circle will be hurt or deterred by them. As Secretary Albright told me in a committee in 2019: ``We have learned that comprehensive sanctions . . . hurt the people.''

Collective punishment is a moral evil, especially when it is authorized with no end in sight. The embargo in Cuba has been in place for over 60 years. It has caused incredible human suffering. It has not produced its intended outcome.

Maximum pressure sanctions on Iran and Venezuela have made it hard for people living in those countries to buy food and medicine, but it has done nothing to weaken their governments.

We also know that there are a number of countries who depend on Russia and Ukraine for their food supplies. Russia and Ukraine produce one-third of the world's wheat. Already, there are reports their countries are refusing to export their own food supplies for fear of a shrinking supply.

There is a very real chance that this war and our sanctions could lead to famine in places like Sudan, which imports half of its wheat from Russia. The Russian people did not choose this war, and the Sudanese people certainly did not. Our policies should not punish them.

I don't support broad-based sanctions on any country, adversary, or ally. They are economic warfare, and we should all oppose them like we oppose military actions.

Madam Speaker, this war was sparked by greed, imperialism, and dehumanization. We must lead with humanity. Let us stand with not just the people of Ukraine who are giving their lives fighting off a cruel war of conquest, but also the brave Russian dissidents who are risking their own lives to stand up to Putin.

Let's stand for a world where the rule of law is respected, human rights abusers face justice, and we see each other first and foremost as fellow humans.

Madam Speaker, I pray for wisdom. I pray for justice. Above all, I pray for peace.

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