mr. royce: mr.peaker, president vladimir putin's decision to forcibly annex crimea was based on his calculation that the price would be bearable. now, in fact, russia is susceptible to pressure. 70% of all the exports of russia are from oil and gas. 52% of the budget that goes to the power behind mr. putin's military and his government comes from that monopoly pricing on natural gas. that supplies the budget for russia. that is what gives him the power to manipulate the situation, the monopoly over gas that he has in eastern europe with respect to ukraine. if we want to check aggression from russia, we must push back and we must work together quickly, not only to confront this monopoly circumstance that exists there but also to quickly impose tough sanctions on president putin and on those who have been his accomplices in carrying out this aggression. diplomatically, our european allies have helped to eject russia from the g-8 and have suspended all other engagement with russia until this crisis is

angle and the chairman, mr. royce, for the bipartisan leadership on this critical resolution. , apparently once a kgb agent always a kgb agent. mr. putin seems have learned nothing from history other than that there is power at the end of the barrel of a gun. the fact that there are russian speakers and crimea as a rationale for one of the most audacious power grabs of the 21st-century, in europe no less, forgets history. let us not forget the crimea was settled by stalin. this was also done at the end of the barrel of a gun. russian interests were never threatened in the crimea after the revolution in kiev. the new government in kiev never abrogated the treaty that allowed russia privileges, naval privileges, through 2042. the ukranians didn't occupy military stations in crimea and around the region. it was the other way around. but the united states and its allies to allow this naked aggression to go unaddressed would be truly an abrogation of our moral responsibility and turn our backs on the very lessons we should

mr. royce: mr. speaker, i'm going to ask that all members that we have -- that we have unanimous consent for all members having five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. royce: thank you, i also ask unanimous consent to place into the record letters between myself and the chairman of other house committees with jurisdictional interests in this bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. royce: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. royce: mr. speaker, president vladimir putin's decision to forcibly annex crimea was based on his calculation that the price would be bearable. now, in fact, russia is susceptible to pressure. 70% of all the exports of russia are from oil and gas. 52% of the budget that goes to the power behind mr. putin's military and his government comes from that mono

mr. royce: mr. speaker, president vladimir putin's decision to forcibly annex crimea was based on his calculation that the price would be bearable. now, in fact, russia is susceptible to pressure. 70% of all the exports of russia are from oil and gas. 52% of the budget that goes to the power behind mr. putin's military and his government comes from that monopoly pricing on natural gas. that supplies the budget for russia. that is what gives him the power to manipulate the situation, the monopoly over gas that he has in eastern europe with respect to ukraine. if we want to check aggression from russia, we must push back and we must work together quickly, not only to confront this monopoly circumstance that exists there but also to quickly impose tough sanctions on president putin and on those who have been his accomplices in carrying out this aggression. diplomatically, our european allies have helped to eject russia from the g-8 and have suspended all other engagement with russia until this crisis i

mr. royce: yes, mr. speaker. i yield one minute to our respected majority leader, the gentleman from virginia, mr. cantor. the speaker pro tempore: the majority leader, mr. cantor, the gentleman from virginia, is recognized for one minute. . mr. can'ter: i thank the gentleman from california. mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of the ukraine support act. vladimir putin's recent annexation of crimea stand in direct violation of ukraine's sovereignty and international law. his aggression may only continue unless we in america along with our allies respond with strength. newspaper reports indicate that putin may not be content with swallowing crimea whole, and that he is now amassing troops on the border with eastern ukraine and may soon have his eyes on moldova. the eyes of the world are on the united states and our e.u. and nato partners. adversaries and allies around the world are watching to see how we respond to this outrageous provocation. to see whether we mean it when we say putin's actions are unacceptab

mr. royce: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentlelady for yielding here. i also thank ileana ros-lehtinen, our chairman emeritus, and our ranking member, eliot engel from new york, for their work together to craft this bipartisan resolution, a resolution that is focused on supporting venezuelans, supporting their right to free expression, their right to democracy, their right yearn to the rule of law, just the most basic respect for human beings. in recent weeks, venezuela's been rocked by a nationwide protest against the government of the late hugo chavez's hand picked successor, niki tsongas -- nicholas maduro. as i watch -- nicolas maduro. as i watch this on cnn, student protests, as students were going through the streets explaining they were against rampant street crime and they wanted the protections of the state rather than the predatory nature of what was happening with these armed gangs. those protests have sensed evolved into a referendum on the government's status policies, their destructive economic pol

mr. royce: mr. speaker, as the author of this resolution, i rise today to honor the life of a rather extraordinary man, vaclav havel, and as we watch the crisis unfold in ukraine, i think it's important to reflect upon the life of a man who led the people of czechoslovakia out from under the thumb of the toe toll tarian system -- totalitarian system he had grown up and played a very key role in the founding of not one but of two vibrant european democracies. one of them the czech republic and the other the slovak republic. i remember a young croatian journalist with tears in his eyes saying if only we had had someone, someone like vaclav havel, when it came to the divisions in the former yugoslavia, because as he -- as he stated, the ideals that enuciated had political pluralism, democratic capitalism, the way forward, the same way forward as was broadcast by radio free europe, radio liberty, broadcast by the way were never heard in yugoslavia. we never broadcasted there. but he said those themes ma

mr. royce: mr. speaker, the new prime minister of the ukraine will visit capitol hill tomorrow and this resolution is a strong show of support in the house. it show this is a we will support the people of the ukraine as they try to build a democratic country, a country that's more prosperous, a country that is free of illegitimate outside influence. and it also sends a clear message to the leaders and elites in russia that an -- annexation of territory in a neighboring state will not extend russia's influence but will instead lead to political and economic isolation. let me also speak to the issue of russia's state controlled gas company. they have just threatened to cut off supplies to ukraine. this is not new. in the past, disputes over natural gas supplies and prices and debts have resulted in russia shutting off the pipelines in ukraine in january of 2006, and in january 2009. not surprisingly, in the middle of the winter. when they would inflict the most damage. these actions also hit several c

mr. royce: mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, chairman of the foreign affairs subcommittee on africa, global health, global human rights, and international organizations. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for three minutes. mr. smith: mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of the ukranian support act. i want to thank my friends and colleagues, chairman royce and ranking member engel for introducing this comprehensive legislation to support ukraine and its urgent effort to meet its current crisis, including building up its democratic institutions. mr. speaker, russia's land grab in crimea violates the core principles of several bilateral and multilateral agreements and treaties between ukraine and russia. the buddha pest memorandum, the united nations charter, as well as the hell sinka -- helsinki final act. this includes strong sanctions against russians directly responsible for the aggression. h.r. 4278 also authori

mr. royce: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. poe, chairman of the foreign affairs subcommittee on terrorism, nonproliferation and trade. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for two minutes. mr. poe: i thank the chairman for the time and i also thank the chairman and the ranking member for bringing this legislation to the floor and a very speedy and efficient manner -- in a very speedy and efficient manner. i will also say i have great respect for my friend from california, mr. rohrabacher. he knows a lot about foreign affairs. but we disagree on what the evidence shows in this particular matter. mr. speaker, mark twain once said that history doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme. well, russia's quite the poet these days. in 2008 russia invaded georgia. confiscated 1/3 of that nation's territory. the world watched. complained a little bit. the world moved on. there were no consequences. and the russians, mr. speaker, are still there. again, second verse, same as the first. the napoleon of siberia ha

mr. royce: thank you, mr. speaker. this is not a new cold war. president reagan ended the cold war. the way he did that, frankly, was by leading, but also with a strategy which drove down the price of oil and gas which was the stranglehold which not only russia had over eastern europe, but also funded the ability of the former soviet union, militarily, to carry out an expansion program. today you have the circumstance where president putin relies almost solely, 70% of the exports, 52% of the budget as i indicated, comes from a monopoly position on oil and gas. that is why i think it is very important that we understand what the polls and what the hungarians understood when they exported $2 billion cubic yards of gas last year to ukraine in order to try to keep the ability of russia from manipulating the situation into leading to the very chaos that was brought about. we need to understand when the u.s.-e.u. annual summit just occurred, and the e.u. asked us to be part of a program to ship gas into that market in order to offset this monopoly control and pricing by russia, that we sh

mr. chair. i want to thank you, chairman royce and mr. engle for bringing support the ukraine act which i strongly support. it's critical for if united states to back ukraine sovereignty, the territory integrity and inthe dependence. i strongly support the angsts for individuals responsible for the loss of ukrainian assets who have significantly undermined democratic processes in the ukraine or have committed human rights abuses. however, i would like to raise an issue that is contained in the support ukraine act, which is probably not within the jurisdiction of this committee. as we seek to promote democratic values in ukraine and uphold those values, we must not lose sight of our own democratic values here in the united states. the bill provides broad discretion the administration and staff in the department of state and homeland security to revoke visas for individuals theyiteria criteria. while i understand and support the need to provide discretion under these extraordinary circumstances, i remain concerned about the lack of any judi

the unfinished business is the vote on the motion from the gentleman from california, mr. royce, to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 938, as amended, on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 938, a bill to strengthen the strategic alliance between the united states and israel and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 410. the nays are one. 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the house will come

the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from california, mr. royce, to suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 499 as amended on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 499, resolution condemning the violation of ukrainian sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity by the military forces of the russian federation. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution as amended. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 402, the nays are seven. one recorded as present. 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the

know what countries does that apply to, how you're going to so he lit did i phi that, and finally, mr. royce already mentioned this but i think it deserves another mention at least, it seems to me that from a u.s. perspective that it would make sense for us to ultimately be a net exporter of liquefied natural gas. we could produce more energy to be exported in asia and europe and in the process we could create more jobs at home and more energy independence and strengthen our bilateral ties with some of these important countries and our european allies might not be so dependent upon the bully putin. so i would urge the administration to look into that. you already mentioned that. i know you've got 27 seconds to address all three questions so -- we >> we'll get the hearings done. the 2015 request is 1.5 billion which is an 8% increase. i don't know who's suggesting we're not going to do that. i've made five trips already to the region. i was just there a couple of weeks ago in korea and china. president's going out there before very long. we are very focused. we are totally committed and we're

mr. rubin. >> thank you, chairman choice. memb royce. i'm thankful for this opportunity. i'd also like to thank my appreciation for the ambassador for joining us today. we very much appreciate his presence. let me begin by thanking this committee for its deep engagement on this issue. we've been heartened by the robust bipartisan support we've received from this committee. house resolution 447 introduced by the house in february 10 sent a powerful message that the american people stand wholly and unequivocally with the people of ukraine in their hour of need. you've notified us you're, ma g i marking up a new resolution today. our united efforts have demonstrated to the people of ukraine and to the international community that the united states is resolute in its support of ukraine's desire for a democratic, peaceful and prosperous future. i will talk about regional stability. russia's military intervention is ukraine and the international community to russia's action. i've submitted a more detailed written testimony for the record. i underscored the situation in the regi

mr. chairman. >> thank you. >> thank you chairman royce and members of this committee. i'm grateful for the opportunity to speak today on u.s. policy toward ukraine. i would also like to express appreciation for the ukrainian ambassador visiting us today. we very much appreciate his presence. let me begin by thanking this committee for its engagement on this issue. in our rush to back the efforts of ukrainian people we have been heartened by the support we have received from this committee and from congresspeople. house resolution 447 passed by the house february 10 sent a powerful message that the american people stand wholly and unequivocally with the people of ukraine in their hour knee. he notified us that your resolution today and we welcome your leadership. we have had close and constant contact with congress in every step of this great situation very night efforts have demonstrated to the people of ukrainian international community that the united states is resolute in its his support of ukraine's desire for democratic prosperous future. i would like to address t

mr. agara a property gazillion they're is lucky. he's bought three rolls roycesggest market. by the time he was through with this one it cost -- >> i knew that question was coming. >> closer to 1.8. >> that's $1.8 million dollars. here they will spend anything. and here they will make anything to keep the spirit of ecstasy flying. >> mason: if a rolls is out of your price range and you're looking to travel on the cheap, richard schlesinger of "48 hours" has just the ticket. >> there is something about spirit airlines that doesn't add up. passengers routinely blast the airline. consumer reports gave it one of the lowest overall scores for any company it's ever rated. but it has one of the highest profit margins of any airline in the country. spirit takes no frills to new heights with some of the lowest-based fares but passengers complain it's late, it's cramped, they are charged for things most airlines include in the ticket price. we found lynn on her second flight largely bus she already bought three nonrefundable tickets. would you do this again? >> not next ye

mr. eliot engel of new york for his opening remarks, the ranking member of the committee. royce, thank you for calling this hearing on the taiwan relations act. i am a big supporter of taiwan and have traveled there many times. most recently with you last year on your first kordell as chairman. i want to agree with everything you just said about taiwan. march the 35th anniversary of the taiwan relations act. the act passed in 1979 and is the cornerstone of the relationship between our two nations. it has been instrumental in maintaining peace and security across the taiwan straits and in east asia. it serves as the official basis of friendship and cooperation between the united states and taiwan. i'm proud to be a leads bonds with you, mr. chairman, on a dress for 94 which reaffirms the importance and relevance of the taiwan relations act three decades after its adoption. taiwan is a flourishing multiparty democracy of over 20 million people, with a vibrant, free market economy. it is a leading trade partner of the united states alongside much bigger countries like brazil and in

mr. secretary, on ukraine, i believe we must continue to stand up for ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and make it clear to president putin there will be serious seniors consequences for his aggression. chairman roycend i are drafting legislation on ukraine and we look forward to working with you to ensure that the united states provides a robust assistance package to the new ukrainian government and imposes appropriate sanctions against human rightsita busers and those hose are complicit in the violation of ukraine's sovereignty. i am also deeply concerned about the on going crisis in syria. nearly three years after the start of the war, assad remains in power and offshoots of al qaeda are growing stronger. refugees continue to spill into neighboring countries and we are all horrified by their stories of violence, torture and starvation. secretary kerry, i hope you will use this opportunity to discuss the administration's strategy to the end the terrible conflict in syria. in 2004 when i was able to get past the syria accountability act, we knew then that assad was a bad player. we couldn't haven't imagined how bad he really is now. iran remains among the biggest threats it our national security e

mr. royce: thank you, mr. speaker. this is not a new cold war. president reagan ended the cold war. the way he did that, frankly, was by leading, but also with a strategy which drove down the price of oil and gas which was the stranglehold which not only russia had over eastern europe, but also funded the ability of the former soviet union, militarily, to carry out an expansion program. today you have the circumstance where president putin relies almost solely, 70% of the exports, 52% of the budget as i indicated, comes from a monopoly position on oil and gas. that is why i think it is very important that we understand what the polls and what the hungarians understood when they exported $2 billion cubic yards of gas last year to ukraine in order to try to keep the ability of russia from manipulating the situation into leading to the very chaos that was brought about. we need to understand when the u.s.-e.u. annual summit just occurred, and the e.u. asked us to be part of a program to ship gas into that market in order to offset this monopoly control and pricing by russia, that we sh