‘Aggression must be met with resolve. We need to bring the full might of sanctions…’
‘And again, I do not want American blood to be shed in Ukraine, but we should support a democracy against any tyrant.’
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) today on the floor of the U.S. Senate discussed the escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
Excerpts from Senator Tuberville’s speech can be found below, and the full speech can be found here.
“Putin rejects Western ideals. He toys with sovereign nations. And he plays by an entirely different set of rules – his own. And when President, Biden signals that our words are hollow or that we will disregard our allies, our adversaries – like Putin – take notice.”
“Putin’s goal is to deter Ukraine from joining NATO. He wants their pro-democracy government to collapse, Ukrainians to abandon their resolve, [and] to take over the country that largely despises him. He wants a buffer between him and the West. And he wants the United States to step aside and let him do this. To be clear, we do not want American bloodshed in Ukraine. But neither do the Ukrainians. Late last year, I traveled to Ukraine with several other Members of Congress to meet with President Zelensky. The Ukrainian President told me: Ukrainians don’t want American boots on the ground. Ukrainians are willing and ready to fight their own fight. All they ask for is support. Not blankets and helmets. But small arms, anti-tank missiles, and other weapons.”
“When Russia was amassing troops along the Ukraine border, President Biden was giving a blistering speech about voting rights – saying that everyone who disagrees with him wants to destroy our country. Instead of studying war plans on Afghanistan or addressing the growing threats from Russia and China, our service members were forced to spend hours upon hours on ‘woke’ training – not on readiness… But the missed opportunities don’t stop at the administration. The Senate already missed a chance to hit Putin where it hurts. A few weeks ago, Senate Republicans voted in support of sanctions on Russia’s pipeline through Europe – the Nord Stream 2. Senate Democrats refused to support these sanctions – who are they more afraid of, President Biden or Putin?”
“Aggression must be met with resolve. We need to bring the full might of sanctions and squeeze Russia’s economy so tightly it chokes Putin’s wealth – this includes sanctions on Nord Stream 2 and actions like delisting Russian companies in our capital markets…”
“We need to get back to what makes our country so great in the first place…That means we make the necessary investments to modernize our military. The highest possible percentage of money we spend at the Department of Defense should go to building a killing machine.”
“We have to get our fiscal house in order… Inflation has engulfed our economy. Families face bare grocery shelves and gas that is more in some places than $5 a gallon. Our national debt just crested $30 trillion dollars – amounting to almost $100,000 per citizen… We need to return [to] free market enterprise with less government intervention.”
“We have to return to championing that spirit of American resolve and determination – in all facets of life. The strength of our nation depends on it. The future of our nation depends on it. After this dark year marked by uncertainty, Americans are ready to return to the path of American independence. Americans across the country want to reignite the American dream and rekindle American ingenuity.”
“This is something all of us – from Members of Congress to our President – should want. Putin thinks that because our President has projected weakness, America is weak. How wrong he is. To Russia and China, I say, betting against the United States and rolling the dice against Ukraine, or Taiwan, is a losing game.”
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP Committees.
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