Missouri, Kansas congressional delegations call for severe sanctions on Russia
Members of Kansas and Missouri’s congressional delegations Thursday morning called on President Joe Biden to impose severe economic sanctions on Russia as retribution for its invasion of Ukraine.
“We must make crystal clear that Russia cannot intimidate or invade our allies and partners without significant consequences,” said Kansas Rep. Sharice Davids. “United as a country and with our allies, we must hold Putin accountable for his unjustified and unacceptable aggression.”
In the early afternoon, Biden announced sanctions on Russia that will cut off the country’s largest banks, limit tech exports and freeze the assets of its richest citizens and their families. The sanctions were coordinated with European allies.
“Putin chose this war and now he and his country will bare the consequences,” Biden said. “Today I’m authorizing additional strong sanctions and new limitations of what can be exported to Russia. This is going to impose severe costs on the Russian economy both immediately and over time.”
He also said he will send more troops to Europe to defend the NATO alliance.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine late Wednesday night, with missile strikes in cities across the country and Russian troops moving toward the capital of Kyiv.
Congress left town last week unable to pass a sanctions bill targeting Moscow and instead agreed on a resolution that scolded Putin for amassing troops at the border, essentially a symbolic gesture. Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran on Thursday sent a letter to Senate President Chuck Schumer asking Congress to pass an immediate bipartisan sanctions package. The Senate is scheduled to come back next week.
This week, both Democrats and Republicans in Congress denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to invade. Missouri Rep. Sam Graves said the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (better known as NATO) allies needed to impose the strictest sanctions possible.
“We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of 2008 and 2014,” Graves said, referencing the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia and the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea.
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and Missouri Rep. Vicky Hartzler also called for sanctions on Russia’s energy industry, but used the moment to call for Biden to ramp up energy production in America.
“The Biden Administration should sanction Russian energy production to a halt, and help arm the Ukrainians to defend themselves,” Hawley said. “At the same time, the White House should reopen American energy production in full. This is the time to show Russia and the world that America will not reward aggression and it will not be dependent on its enemies.”
America imports relatively little of its oil and gas from Russia, relying more on domestic production and imports from Canada and Mexico, according the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In 2020 the U.S. produced more petroleum than it consumed and exported more than it imported.
However, Russia is the main supplier to the European Union for gas and oil. Biden on Thursday said Americans will likely feel some level of economic pain from the sanctions and asked energy companies to avoid price gouging.
Earlier this month, Hawley sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggesting that America’s forces should be focused on China instead of Russia. He called for the United States to drop support for admitting Ukraine into NATO, which was among the demands listed by Putin as he amassed troops at the Ukrainian border.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki accused Hawley of “parroting” Russian propaganda.
Republicans split on criticizing Biden amid the crisis.
While Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran and Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt did not criticize Biden in statements this week amid the build-up to the Russian invasion, Hawley and Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall have been critical of Biden for looking weak.
Marshall, in a statement issued Tuesday, said Biden had made missteps, specifically referencing the administration’s decision not to impose sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany. Germany halted certification of the pipeline on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Missouri Rep. Billy Long, who is running for U.S. Senate, criticized Biden for not doing enough to stop Putin from invading Russia, contradicting statements from other senators who have pinned the blame solely on Putin. Long, too, cited the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and said Biden should have put severe sanctions into effect sooner.
Members of the delegation also offered their prayers for people in Ukraine. Videos from reporters on the ground have shown people huddled in bomb shelters and subway stations and streams of cars trying to get out of the capital.
Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran tweeted that he was praying for Ukraine and Kansas City Rep. Emanuel Cleaver said his heart was with Ukrainians as they took up arms to defend their country.
“Today, my heart and my prayers are with the proud people of Ukraine,” Cleaver said. “As they are forced to take up arms to defend their homeland from an unprovoked and unconscionable act of war, the rest of the world must stand united in condemnation and rejection of Russia’s aggression.”
This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 11:10 AM.