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Floor Speech
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Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, and now let me join with my colleagues from New Hampshire and Alabama in urging a strong ``yes'' vote on the motion to proceed to Lindsey Graham's sanctions bill.
A number of us gathered today, as we have already heard, at the National Cathedral for Senator Lindsey Graham's funeral. And in a few moments, we will vote to advance a bill that Lindsey Graham made possible.
During the past few days, we have heard a number of stories about Lindsey Graham's many idiosyncrasies: his endless energy--he has been called the Energizer Bunny--his quotable jokes, his nonquotable quips, his one-of-a-kind personality.
We also remembered his steadfast love for freedom and his intolerance for tyrants. The bill we will vote on in a few moments reflects those aspects of his personality.
I have suggested that it is his greatest political achievement. It took a Senator like Lindsey Graham to bring this bill so far. In this environment, with these stakes, he brought together so many parties. It seems he did this almost through the sheer force of his will. I have seen that drive for 32 years since we came to Washington together as freshmen in 1994.
Again, I say this could turn out to be Lindsey Graham's greatest legislative achievement. The Lindsey Graham sanctions bill will advance the cause of freedom, and it will combat Vladimir Putin's war machine. It will go after Vladimir Putin, his inner circle, and the shadow fleet they use to evade sanctions. It will hold accountable those who purchase the most Russian oil and gas. It will also take aim at China's investments in Russian weapons production. It will maintain sanctions pressure on Iran. These policies will save human lives. They will pave the way for even more impressive battlefield achievements by Ukraine.
The Ukrainians have been resourceful from day one. For 4 years, the freedom fighters have managed to stand against a country four times the size of theirs. And today, Ukraine is using long-range drone strikes to take the war to Russia. I hope to meet with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine soon. He regularly refers to these drone strikes as long-range sanctions. Let's give Ukraine even more sanctions, even more tools to fight back against the dictator Putin.
This bill will be a moral achievement. It is a clear statement about the aggressor in Russia and the nation he is attacking.
Ukraine targets facilities in Russia used to wage war. On the other hand, Vladimir Putin targets apartments, neighborhoods, churches, and corner stores. As Ukraine defends its homeland, Vladimir Putin callously sends the sons of Russia into bloodshed. He is not persuaded by appeals to human rights.
I have made no secret of my complete disgust for the dictator Vladimir Putin and for his many war crimes against the Ukrainian people throughout this unprovoked conflict. If we have learned anything about the Russian despot Vladimir Putin over the course of this war, it is that the slaughter of civilians and even his own Russian troops give him no pause. His soulmates are the dead dictators of the previous century--Pol Pot, Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin. Vladimir Putin's name deserves to be stated among those disparate war criminals.
He disregards human life, but he does prize the strength of his war machine. For this, Putin relies on his energy sales, and that is what we are getting to with this bill. This legislation will help curtail those energy sales. It will put maximum economic pressure on Vladimir Putin. This is the one thing--apparently the only thing he understands.
President Trump and President Zelenskyy have long extended the hand of peace. Time and again, Putin has answered with more violence, more destruction, and more innocent Ukrainian and Russian lives snuffed out.
Lindsey Graham understood Putin's calculation, and he wrote a bill to hit Putin where it hurts. We will have a chance to act on that bill today. I expect an overwhelming majority vote in favor.
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