Providing for Consideration of H.R. Unlocking Our Domestic Lng Potential Act of 2024
Floor Speech
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Mr. RYAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I don't get up very often and speak much on the floor, to be honest. What I heard in the few minutes here from my colleagues is, as the gentleman from Massachusetts said, the greatest hits, the recurring talking points over and over and over that are completely disconnected from where constituents in my district, in the Hudson Valley of New York, are on a whole host of issues.
These are people who want us to actually fix problems. Specifically, they are people who want us to stand up for freedom and democracy in the face of rising authoritarian access around the world. Instead of doing any of that, we are debating these same bills over and over and over.
We should be voting right now to stand strong with our democratic, small d, allies around the world from Europe to the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific. I am not going to read this letter, but as I was walking here, I received a letter from one of my constituents, an 18-year-old young man--I am not going to say his name and embarrass him without his permission--from Warwick, New York, who I had the incredible honor to nominate to the United States Military Academy at West Point, my alma mater. All of us have been giving these nominations to great American young men and women who, even in the time of incredible risk and danger around the world, are willing to stand up.
He said: I now fully realize why I want to serve my country; why I need to serve my country.
How are we going to send our young men and women in uniform into harm's way without looking them in the eye and saying: We stand for something. We stand for democracy. We stand for freedom. That is why I signed up and raised my right hand and took the oath as a commissioned officer in the United States Army.
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Mr. RYAN. Mr. Speaker, by ignoring the bipartisan Senate bill to provide support to our allies, instead of keeping faith with our allies in Ukraine, who have stood proudly and strongly against all odds and against all expectations, and who continue to do so, instead of voting to send them the support they need, to have our allies' back, we are debating this same stuff over and over.
We all know why. It is at the direction of one former President for political, selfish reasons, the same person who called my brothers and sisters in arms suckers and losers. He is now the puppet master as Putin gets every single thing he wants.
How can I look this young man and all the people who we are sending to all of our service academies in the eye, when we can't even have a vote? If you don't want to vote for democracy and freedom, fine, but at least be proud enough and brave enough to stand on the floor of the House of Representatives and let your constituents know that.
Mr. Speaker, I won't use the full balance of the time that the gentleman yielded. I just strongly urge all of my colleagues, not as partisans, not as politicians, but as patriots, demand a vote on this bill and stand and be counted.
Let us stand with our allies in Europe. Let us stand with our allies in the Middle East against Iran. Let us stand with our allies in the Indo-Pacific. That is what we owe the American people.
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