Hoyer: Trump, Witkoff, Hegseth, Vance, Rubio – They've Done Everything to Appease Putin Short of Putting on a Russian Uniform

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"Mr. Speaker, this chamber will soon be empty as Members leave for the holiday without having taken action to aid Ukraine; our friend, our ally, a courageous people who want to be free. The trenches in Donbas will not be empty, however. Ukrainian medic stations and hospitals will not be empty. The air raid shelters beneath Kyiv, Odessa, Kharkiv will not be empty. Mr. Speaker, this Administration is sleepwalking toward the edge of an abyss that will be difficult to escape. Neville Chamberlain once did the same. He returned from Munich and hoisted a piece of paper above his head that bore his signature and that of Adolf Hitler. Without consulting Czechoslovakia, Chamberlain traded a fifth of its territory in exchange for Hitler's word that he would not invade. He said - Chamberlain said it would secure 'peace with honor…a peace for our time .' Within five months, the Nazis occupied every square inch of Czechoslovakia. Within a year, they had [invaded] Poland. Within two years, German bombs were falling in London. Just a few days after Chamberlain brandished Czechoslovakia's death warrant, Winston Churchill said, and I quote, 'The dictator -' in this case Hitler, in our case, Putin, '- instead of snatching the victuals from the table, has been content to have them served to him course by course .'

"Mr. Speaker, another dictator now hungers for his next course. Vladimir Putin did not stop with his invasion of Georgia or his campaign to separate Transnistria from Moldova. He did not stop with his 2014 annexation of Crimea - though perhaps he would have if America and the United Kingdom honored the Budapest Memorandum. It is foolish and dangerous to think he will stop at the Donbas. The Russian bear is about to take its next bite, and Donald Trump is setting the table. Trump, Witkoff, Hegseth, Vance, Rubio - they've done everything to appease Putin short of putting on a Russian uniform. Their 28 point 'peace' plan last month was a Russian menu. What concessions did Trump demand from Ukraine? That it forfeits a fifth of its territory - including land that Russia does not occupy - to its invader; that it cap the size of its military; that it forgoes its right to join NATO, which I believe is the only measure that can truly guarantee Ukraine's security. What has he demanded from Russia in exchange? Nada, zip, nothing. No economic reparations for Ukraine. No requirement that Russia return the Ukrainian children it abducted. No accountability for the war crimes Putin has committed. Just Putin's promise not to invade again - one he has yet to make and one he would never keep. This Administration acts as though we have no leverage in this situation - as though NATO's $1.8 trillion defense expenditures, 3.5 million troops, and combined GDP of $54 trillion mean nothing.

"America is not impotent, nor is NATO, nor is the West in this fight against fascism, and neither is this Congress. Over 300 of us in every one of 12 votes has cast [their] vote for Ukraine; the majority of Republicans on all but one of those votes. We only need three more Republicans to sign on to the bipartisan discharge petition Ranking Member Meeks and I put forward to bring the Ukraine Support Act to the Floor for a vote. That legislation would undermine Russia's war machine and give Ukraine the support it needs to win this fight. Actually, and psychologically, this House has taken 12 votes on past bills supporting Ukraine; an average of 80% of our Members have voted for every one of those and yet we stand silent. We have not acted. We cannot build a peace with honor on a promise from Putin. We can only achieve peace by awakening to our own power, to our own influence. I ask my colleagues, each of you who has supported Ukraine continuously in the past on almost every vote: sign the discharge petition now. Let us not go home silent in the face of tyranny."