Risch Asks Dems to Join NYET Act: We have a responsibility to do more for Ukraine
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today asked for unanimous consent on passage of his Never Yielding Europe’s Territory (NYET) Act, legislation to support the people of Ukraine and impose crippling sanctions on Russia. Senate Democrats objected to Senator Risch’s request. Risch’s bill has the support of 38 other senators and is the only comprehensive legislation that would support the Ukrainian people while imposing enormous costs on the Russian economy.
On the need for more action:
“The reason we are on the floor today is it’s not enough. You said I came down here to criticize the president. I did not criticize the president in anything I said. I applaud the action he’s taken. I want him to take more. We have a convoy that’s 40 miles long that’s headed to Kyiv. That convoy started out after all of these sanctions that the president put in place had taken effect. The banks, as you know, shut down, at least temporarily in Russia. They’ve closed their stock market. They’ve done a number of things, but it’s not enough. We need to toughen up.”
On the importance of secondary sanctions:
“As you know, I’ve talked and talked and talked with the administration to try to get them to embrace secondary sanctions, because it’s the secondary sanctions that are truly going to shut the thing down, lock, stock and barrel. And Putin’s going to have to answer to his people if they get shut down.”
On the urgency of taking action:
“The question you have to ask is how long can the Ukrainians hold out? We want them to hold out. There are provisions in the act, as you know, that provide additional help for the Ukrainians themselves.”
“There isn't a person in this body that doesn't want to do all we can possibly do to preserve the lives of the Ukranians that are perishing every day – women, children, civilians. And we need to do all we can. Putin is not going to be deterred until we do all that we can. And that comes to… completely shutting down the economy in Russia. This bill does that.”
On why Congress must act:
“We have an obligation to do this as Americans, as the strongest country in the world. We can't stand by and watch this slaughter that is happening. And when that convoy gets there, is going to be even worse. [The NYET Act] is something we can actually do to do more than what the president has done. And I'll say it – I said it before and I'll say it again – I commend the president for what he's done. But we also, as the first branch of government, have a responsibility. We believe this bill exercises that responsibility.”
These remarks have been lightly edited for clarity.
The senator’s full remarks can be watched on YouTube here and here.
The senator’s full remarks can be downloaded on Google Drive here and here.
A full transcript of Senator Risch’s remarks can be found below:
“Madam President, I rise today to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine. And in a moment, I'm going to ask unanimous consent to pass some legislation which has been kicking around here for a while and is way overdue. What we've witnessed over the past five days is a flagrant act of unprovoked aggression penetrated by Russia against Ukraine. The world we are living in today is different from the one we lived in last week.
“For months, I, along with my Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle, have watched the conflict edge closer and closer. The Intelligence Community provided accurate and clear information, and for this I commend them. I also commend them for releasing the vast majority, if not all of the information they had in an attempt to deter Putin. That didn't work. However, there is no question we should have taken action sooner rather than later, and it's time to do so now in a much more aggressive fashion.
“In preparation for this invasion, many of my Senate colleagues and I drafted hard-hitting sanctions and called repeatedly for more lethal assistance for months. We used all leverage at our disposal to pressure the administration to take sufficient action, but despite our actions, our efforts, it didn't happen. Certainly some military assistance was provided, but it is hard not to think that if we had expedited Javelin and Stinger deliveries last year and let our allies move more equipment sooner, the Ukrainians would be making the Russians pay a much higher price.
“Right now Ukraine desperately needs the support of the international community. It needs us to sanction Russia, to punish its government for this unjustified attack. These Ukrainian heroes need more weapons, armor, and supplies to fight back the Russian invaders and preserve the lives of its population. The Biden Administration was well intentioned in pursuit of a diplomatic resolution for Russia's aggression. But the administration was wrong to oppose our congressional efforts to impose even tougher sanctions that were essential to make our deterrence credible.
“President Biden made it clear that maximum economic sanctions would only come after Putin invaded. The administration's promise that the threat of sanctions would be enough to deter Putin was a mistake. Look where we are now. Diplomacy has failed. The invasion has happened. While sanctions have now been levied on Russia, there is still room for more robust sanctions in order to get Putin to pull back.
“I have always said I am all in on all of the above when it comes to Ukraine and Russia. I'm happy to support legislation proposed by my Democrat colleagues, but the Senate must take the lead and mandate the massive economic sanctions that President Biden and his officials committed to. The NYET Act, which I introduced two weeks ago, contains the tough sanctions that will bring the hammer down on Putin and his regime and provide the assistance that Ukraine needs now. It's based on the bipartisan negotiations that took place over the last two months and includes many measures that have been endorsed by members on both sides of the aisle.
“To be clear, I understand that my friends on the other side are going to object to this. Nonetheless, a good number of things they suggested are in this bill. The act places sanctions on Russia's lucrative mining, mineral, and oil and gas sectors, actions that the administration thus far has refused to take. This needs to be done, and we haven't received an explanation as to why they haven't done it. It punishes Russian and Belarusian government and military officials for their horrific actions, and will expose the full extent of Putin's and his cronies’ theft.
“The bill sanctions 12 of the largest Russian banks, and, critically, also imposes secondary sanctions on them, something the administration has yet to do. Secondary sanctions are critical to hurting the Russian economy. They force the world's financial institutions to make a choice between Russia and Western markets. They will choose the West, indeed for their own good they must choose the west. Russia will be isolated.
“When it comes to sanctions, I want to thank Senator Toomey for helping on that part of this bill, and he's going to talk about them in a minute. NYET also increases the funding for military assistance to Ukraine as well as other Eastern European nations, to RFE/RL, the Global Engagement Center, and refills the President's Drawdown account. It also establishes a new Ukrainian resistance fund to help Ukraine continue to resist attempts to occupy or subjugate any new territory Russia seizes, while sending a clear message to Putin that his military will pay a price for advances into sovereign Ukrainian territory.
“Their resistance has been nothing short of all inspiring – that is the Ukrainian people themselves. We need to help them, and this bill, the NYET Act, will do exactly that. I hope my colleagues across the aisle will put aside partisanship and join us today by passing this bill which will impose crippling sanctions on Russia’s most powerful people and which will support the people of Ukraine. All of us are moved by the Ukrainian people and their fight for freedom. My democratic colleagues have supported nearly all of these concepts at one time or another. I ask them to join me today. This is the most deliberative body in the world, we always say. We've over-deliberated and it's time to act.
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“First of all let me say that a number of the things I do take exception with, for instance, the statement that if we pass this, we’re going to somehow shatter the unanimity with which the world has come together to impose this. Nothing could be further from the truth. Certainly, the sanctions that we have put on have been in conjunction with a lot of our allies and a lot of our partners. Simply putting on secondary sanctions, again in conjunction with our allies and our partners will not in any way shatter that at all.
“My good friend says, why are we on the floor today? Senator I would say the reason we are on the floor today is it’s not enough. You said I came down here to criticize the president. I did not criticize the president in anything I said. I applaud the action he’s taken. I want him to take more. We have a convoy that’s 40 miles long that’s headed to Kyiv. Now that convoy started out after all of these sanctions that the president put in place had taken effect. The banks, as you know, shut down, at least temporarily in Russia. They’ve closed their stock market. They’ve done a number of things, but it’s not enough. We need to toughen up.
“As you know, I’ve talked and talked and talked with the administration to try to get them to embrace secondary sanctions because it’s the secondary sanctions that are truly going to shut the thing down, lock, stock and barrel. And Putin’s going to have to answer to his people if they get shut down.
“Look, this is not partisan. I’m not here to try to drive a wedge in the party. And as you know, your party had substantial input into the NYET Act that we have here. The chairman of the committee, I think, negotiated in good faith as we put this together. I’ve told him that personally, I’ve said that publically. The fact is, we came very close to the bill, and the NYET Act is very close to what we agreed to. But we couldn’t come together on the last few things. And that is a permanent shutdown of Nord Stream 2, not just the sanctions that are in place on a temporary basis. And on secondary sanctions, which we believe will be the final nail in the coffin for the economy in Russia.
“Again, I answer the question you asked, why are we here? We’re here because it’s not enough. The convoys are continuing, there’s tens of thousands more soldiers entering Ukraine. They’re having a tough, tough time with it. I agree with Senator Toomey – you know you sit here and you see what’s going on. The question you have to ask is how long can the Ukrainians hold out? We want them to hold out. There are provisions in the act, as you know, that provide additional help for the Ukrainians themselves. But most importantly, what it will do is flat shutdown the economy in Russia. In addition to that, you and I have discussed I think, the fact that we can never use sanctions in a manner where we or our allies get hurt worse than the enemy does, for that matter, to any great extent. That’s why there are waivers in here. Sanctions always have waiver provisions in them so that it can take the edge off on anything that causes us or our allies any difficulties. So in that regard, I think you’re wrong on that.
“Back to the basic bill, I said I’m an all-of-the-above person. If the Democrats want to bring their bill down, which will probably look very much like this but it won’t have secondary sanctions or a permanent closing of Nord Stream 2, I will stand up here and say we can do better but I’m still going to vote for your bill. And I wish you would do that. I wish would you do that on mine. I would respectfully request that you back away from this complaint that this is a partisan exercise. It is not a partisan exercise. There isn't a person in this body that doesn't want to do all we can possibly do to preserve the lives of the Ukranians that are perishing every day. Women, children, civilians. And we need to do all we can. And Putin is not going to be deterred until we do all that we can. And that comes to permanently shutting down the, excuse me, to completely shutting down the economy in Russia. This bill does that.
“And again I apologize if you think that there's anything political about this. It's not. It's trying to do the right thing as you and I have talked about. We have an obligation to do this as Americans, as the strongest country in the world. We can't stand by and watch this slaughter that is happening and when that convoy gets there, is going to be even worse. This is something we can actually do to do more than what the president has done. And I'll say it, I said it before and I'll say it again. I commend the president for what he's done. But we also, as the first branch of government, have a responsibility. We believe this bill exercises that responsibility. Thank you, madam president.”
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