WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) released a video statement following President Biden’s announcement of new sanctions on Russia in response to their invasion of Ukraine.
“Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has made us all stand with the Ukrainians. And if you’re freedom-loving, you are asking what should we do in response. In addition, we should not send troops. I don’t think that’s the right decision. But we should strengthen our U.S. forces in NATO countries that we’ve made commitments to. We should also do more than the sanctions that the President has laid out. What I proposed is to do is what happened during the Ronald Reagan administration. The Saudi Arabians flooded the world with cheap oil that destroyed the USSR’s economy, because they made their money selling oil. They could not support their war machine. The USSR fell apart,” said Dr. Cassidy.
“Now substitute the [Saudi Arabians for the United States], we can do that now. Developing North American resources in a safe, environmentally-healthy way. Taking our natural gas, shipping it around the world, lowering prices for us, by the way creating jobs in the United States of America, but denying the Russians the income they would otherwise receive. That will drive a stake in the heart of their economy. That will destroy their war machine. That is what we should be doing. We’re stronger. They’re weaker,” continued Dr. Cassidy.
Background
Cassidy released a statement earlier this week and another today condemning Russia’s decision to invade neighboring Ukraine. Cassidy also voted to sanction Russia’s Nord Stream II pipeline before the invasion took place and led a bipartisan Senate resolution last week pledging American support to Ukraine as Russian aggression escalated.
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