Deb Fischer

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum calls with respect to the Pozos and Traynor nominations.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I would like to say a few words about Senator Schumer's legislation on the Presidential airlift.

This has been discussed before, and it was voted down earlier this year as part of a vote-arama that we participated in.

Senator Schumer's legislation would prevent any funding to be used to modify a foreign aircraft for Presidential airlift. We made this point during the vote-arama. The Senator is trying to make a political point today, of course, about the VC-25 Bridge aircraft, which was made in America and then owned by Qatar.

Unfortunately, this legislation would also apply to a different aircraft, the Survivable Airborne Operations Center aircraft, or SAOC. Those aircraft were actually purchased from Korean Air. So this legislation would hamper a crucial program that ensures Presidential safety in the event of a nuclear war.

Thus, Senator Schumer's bill would significantly harm our U.S. nuclear deterrents. To be clear, the SAOC is the cornerstone of our NC3 modernization. This is the plane that will command and control our nuclear weapons on America's worst day.

We cannot play these political games with the NC3. So with that, I object.

Mr. President, Lindsey Graham, a friend, a colleague, and a tireless national security advocate. He was a true leader in strengthening our military and our country's defense, and I miss him dearly. I am so pleased that his sister Darline now serves here in this institution. She is carrying on his legacy and honoring his commitment to the people of South Carolina and to this country.

So I rise here today to, yes, pay tribute to Lindsey Graham, but to also call on my colleagues to help us carry on one of his greatest efforts: ending Putin's barbaric and unjust war against sovereign Ukraine.

For more than 4 years, the Ukrainian people have shown extraordinary resilience and resolve. They have defended their homeland with courage that has inspired the world.

In 2022, Putin thought he could seize eastern Ukraine in days. He thought he

could drag Europe back into the dark shadow of the Soviet Union. He thought that he would be feared and respected.

But he is neither strong nor powerful; he is a war criminal.

Putin has made clear his intentions to push beyond Ukraine and into NATO territory. Russian drones have encroached on Polish, Finnish, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian, and Romanian airspace. These were deliberate--deliberate--provocations to test NATO's resolve.

Putin seeks to push deeper into Europe to see just how far he can go before we push back. That is why the United States and our allies must raise the stakes through tougher sanctions and a stronger United States' deterrence posture along NATO's eastern flank.

I commend the Polish and Dutch, German, and the Italian Armed Forces for their swift and also their professional response in intercepting drones that could have killed innocent civilians during these incursions. Their actions remind us that NATO's strength lies in that unity and readiness.

President Trump has made clear that Europe must carry more of the burden for its own security. Poland, in particular, has answered that call, committing 5 percent of its GDP to defense. Other allies are stepping up as well.

This is the path forward, a stronger more capable NATO prepared to deter but also to defeat any threat. But make no mistake on this: Putin understands only one language, and that is power. The surest road to peace in Europe lies in NATO's strength and Ukraine's survival.

Yet, strength must also be economic. The Kremlin's war machine runs on money it makes from selling cheap oil and gas to countries like China and India and Brazil. Those nations, well, then they profit by turning around and reselling Russian energy at a markup, and that must end.

It is long overdue for the financial enablers of Russia's atrocities to pay a price. They cannot keep fueling Putin's war and expect business as usual with us, with the United States.

That is why Congress must pass the Sanctioning Russia Act. This legislation would impose mandatory sanctions on Russia's political leadership, financial institutions, energy sector, and sanctions evasion networks. By employing targeted tariffs, this policy would pressure the world's largest purchasers of Russian energy to reduce their dependence on Moscow.

This gives the President maximum flexibility to enforce these measures, ensuring both legal strength and political durability.

I am grateful to Senator Blumenthal who worked closely with Lindsey on this important bipartisan legislation, and I am encouraged to see him carry this effort forward.

I was proud to be an early supporter of the bill, and I am proud to support this updated version now. The Sanctioning Russia Act is the sledgehammer that we need, decisive economic pressure that cripples Putin's lifeline, and it hastens the day that his war with Ukraine is finally going to end.

Peace will not come from weakness or hesitation; it will come from strength--military, economic, and moral strength, welded together by the free nations of the world.

So I ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join our broad coalition in supporting this bill. Let us carry on Lindsey's mission. Let us stand up to evil. Let us bring freedom and security to the people of Ukraine.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.