[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 63 (Monday, April 17, 2023)] [House] [Pages H1738-H1739] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-17
Chamber: HOUSE
Mr. MAST: I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 240 to condemn Russia's blatantly hostile actions last month downing a United States Air Force drone, downing one of our United States military aircraft. Think about the seriousness of that. On March 14, while flying in international airspace over the Black Sea, a U.S. Air Force Reaper drone was attacked by two Russian fighter jets. Yes, it was attacked. The two jets flew in front of it, and at one point, even dumped fuel onto the drone. Eventually, one of the Russian jets hit the drone's propeller and sent it crashing into the Black Sea. Let's talk about what this really was. Was this an American aircraft? Yes, it was. Was this an American aircraft flying in international airspace? Yes, it was. Was this an American aircraft flying in international airspace that was taken down as a result of Russian pilots' purposeful actions? Yes, it was. There is no version of the world in which this can be deemed acceptable. Unless that's in Joe Biden's world, apparently. Let's compare and contrast the response of the Kremlin to the response of the White House on this attack. Vladimir Putin rewarded the two fighter pilots with medals for a job well done. Think about that. President Biden ordered altered flight patterns to avoid future conflicts with Russia. That is the difference between the two responses. We are having a lot of conversations about America being violated by foreign adversaries, the last bill and now this one. The Kremlin sent a clear message about what took place, that this type of behavior, they deemed it commendable. They have pinned medals on the chests of their fighter pilots. They rewarded them. The White House sent a clear signal that they are going to be bullied and they are going to be backing away. They responded with weakness and compromised our intelligence operations by moving us further from what we wanted to observe, when we were just debating a bill about China surveying us over our own territory with their balloon. These are the differences in what is going on in the world right now. By altering flight patterns and sending drones in the Black Sea further to the south, the Biden administration has degraded our ability to collect intelligence on Russian forces in the region. To put it simply, Putin lashed out, and very unfortunately, Biden backed down, and now America is less safe. Vladimir Putin does not get a veto over U.S. operations of military operations in international airspace or sovereign Ukrainian airspace. Yet, President Biden seems determined to give him one. This is just the next domino to fall, in my opinion. How would the President respond if China took similar action against our aircraft in the South China Sea or in Taiwan? President Biden is telegraphing to our adversaries that the U.S. will back down in the face of the slightest provocation. He is giving Vladimir Putin the validation that he needs: that he can simply threaten escalation in order to intimidate others into backing down. He draws no red lines. This resolution condemns Russia's attack. It reaffirms that the U.S. will not be intimidated--something that we have to reaffirm in this body given what is going on--certainly not when it comes to operating drones in international airspace. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this, and I reserve the balance of my time.