WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Thursday slammed Senate Republicans on the U.S. Senate floor for their efforts to undermine U.S. diplomatic efforts to deter further Russian aggression in Ukraine. Murphy explained why Senator Cruz’s sanctions bill would not stop the completed Nord Stream 2 pipeline from becoming operational, and instead, how it would divide us from our European partners and empower Russia.

Murphy criticized the ineffective sanctions in Senator Cruz’s Nord Stream 2 sanctions bill: “The sanctions in this bill are, unfortunately, pretty feckless. They’re feckless because they can be undone easily, within 30 to 60 days, by the Russian government. The reality is if we don't convince our European partners to stop moving forward with this project, there's no amount of U.S. sanction that can be effective here. What we know is even if you were to sanction this German-Swiss company, German board of directors, in a matter of days, weeks, maybe a few months, the Russians could reengineer the financing and the administration of the project to keep it going.”

Murphy continued: “[T]hink about this from the German perspective. They finally said yes to the United States. And the minute that they say yes is the minute that the United States Senate decides to sanction German citizens. That's bad diplomacy…We need to be sending a message to Vladimir Putin that the United States and Europe are together and that we are going to deliver a crushing package of sanctions if you enter Ukraine any further. This would be a gift to Vladimir Putin because it's a signal of division at a moment when we need to be standing together.

On the Defending Ukraine Sovereignty Act of 2022, which he cosponsors, Murphy said: “Senator Menendez has proposed a bill which I think can draw support from 90% of this body that enacts a set of sanctions on Russia if Russia moves any further into Ukraine, beyond where they are already in eastern Ukraine and Crimea. That sends the right signal. That's an effective message of consequence rather than this proposal which apparently is a set of sanctions Republicans are going to ask to be waived and divides us from our partners at a moment when we need to be together.”

Murphy also debunked Senator Cruz’s argument that pipeline construction stopped after the previous sanctions bill under former President Trump: “Senator Cruz says that the construction of the pipeline stopped when Congress passed the Nord Stream sanctions and didn't begin again until Joe Biden became president. I've seen that repeated in the press. And it just isn't true. One company that was laying the pipeline backed out of the project when the 2019 sanctions bill was passed, but then guess what happened? Russia started retrofitting other ships to finish the job, and the minute that they were permitted, construction began again. Not when Joe Biden was president—when Donald Trump was president. The ships were ready in May of 2020, before Joe Biden was even nominated, and they started work a few months later as soon as the Danish government permitted them.”

Murphy slammed Senate Republicans for their hypocrisy in holding up President Biden’s State Department nominees over Nord Stream 2: “[I]n 2020, Senator Cruz didn't hold up any of Donald Trump's State Department nominees when Trump was refusing to implement sanctions, when the Russians sent ships that started showing up to restart construction. Not even when construction restarted in the fall of 2020. Nope, during this time all of Trump's State Department nominees sailed through without a single Republican objection or blockade.”

“This bill isn't going to help Ukraine. It's designed to hurt the President of the United States, and, unfortunately, some—not all, not all—but some of our Republican colleagues here have consistently put their desire to politically harm President Biden ahead of their desire to protect the nation,” Murphy concluded.

This week, Murphy co-sponsored the Defending Ukraine Sovereignty Act of 2022, critical legislation to impose steep costs in the event of a renewed Kremlin invasion of Ukraine.

A full transcript of his remarks can be found below:

“First and foremost, let me thank Senator Shaheen. She has been a leader in the Senate and in our caucus on raising alarms about the danger of Nord stream 2 to European security and Ukrainian security, and I’ve been so glad to work with her over these past several years. And I'm here on the floor to join her in our strong opposition to the legislation that is pending on the floor as we speak.
“If this bill passes, it won't make the Nord Stream pipeline any less likely. It won't stop Russia from invading Ukraine. In fact, it will do the exact opposite. It will make the completion of Nord Stream more likely, and it will be a gift to Russia, dividing us from our European allies right at the moment when we need to be in solidarity with them in order to deter Russian aggression. 

“I'll try not to repeat too much of what Senator Shaheen has said, but let me just underscore the points she has made. First, the sanctions in this bill are, unfortunately, pretty feckless. They’re feckless because they can be undone easily, within 30 to 60 days, by the Russian government. The reality is if we don't convince our European partners to stop moving forward with this project, there's no amount of U.S. sanction that can be effective here. What we know is even if you were to sanction this German-Swiss company, German board of directors, in a matter of days, weeks, maybe a few months, the Russians could reengineer the financing and the administration of the project to keep it going. 

“Even more interesting to me is what Senator McConnell just said. Senator McConnell just came to the floor and said while he supports Senator Cruz's proposal, he expects that the Biden administration will waive the sanctions. So then why are we engaging in this in the first place if Republicans are going to support the waiving of the sanctions? Because the sanctions would interrupt our negotiation with Germany, why pass the bill in the first place? So apparently many Republicans are supporting the Cruz bill but then are going to be asking the Biden administration not to implement it. That does not seem to make a lot of sense. 

“The primary impact of this bill, as Senator Shaheen explained is to divide us from Germany. Why is that? Because we know that the only way to stop Nord Stream 2 is by convincing Germans and other Europeans to stop the project. Now, we have for the first time since we began talking to the Germans about this, convinced them to press pause. First time the German government has decided to press pause through their regulatory agencies, they have stopped the certification of the pipeline which by the way is built. It was 95% built when President Trump left office. He let it be constructed. 95% built. It is now 100% built.

“But the Germans have, because of American diplomacy and because of the threat of invasion of Ukraine from Russia, pressed pause on its project. It can't start until the summer or the fall. And, frankly, that time allows us to continue to engage with the Germans and others to try to convince them that this project is not in their interest. 

“So think about this from the German perspective. They finally said yes to the United States. And the minute that they say yes is the minute that the United States Senate decides to sanction German citizens. That's bad diplomacy. It's just bad diplomacy. And it's a moment at which we have to be in lockstep with our European partners. We need to be sending a message to Vladimir Putin that the United States and Europe are together and that we are going to deliver a crushing package of sanctions if you enter Ukraine any further. This would be a gift to Vladimir Putin because it's a signal of division at a moment when we need to be standing together.

“Senator Menendez has the right approach. Senator Menendez has proposed a bill which I think can draw support from 90% of this body that enacts a set of sanctions on Russia if Russia moves any further into Ukraine, beyond where they are already in eastern Ukraine and Crimea. That sends the right signal. That's an effective message of consequence rather than this proposal which apparently is a set of sanctions Republicans are going to ask to be waived and divides us from our partners at a moment when we need to be together.

“Lastly, I want to address one particular point that I've heard Senator Cruz make over and over and over again in defense of his proposal. Senator Cruz says that the construction of the pipeline stopped when Congress passed the Nord Stream sanctions and didn't begin again until Joe Biden became president. I've seen that repeated in the press. And it just isn't true. 

“One company that was laying the pipeline backed out of the project when the 2019 sanctions bill was passed, but then guess what happened? Russia started retrofitting other ships to finish the job, and the minute that they were permitted, construction began again. Not when Joe Biden was president—when Donald Trump was president. The ships were ready in May of 2020, before Joe Biden was even nominated, and they started work a few months later as soon as the Danish government permitted them. 

“Now, Senator Shaheen and Senator Cruz had passed a sanctions bill with all of our support at the end of 2019. And during all of 2020 while the Russians were retrofitting these ships, while they were sending them back to Danish waters, while the permitting was happening, Donald Trump didn't enact one sanction that was permitted by Congress. Congress passed a law at the end of 2019. All of 2020 Donald Trump didn't enact a single sanction. 

“This was the critical moment. This was the time in which the meat of the pipeline was being built, and President Trump did nothing and he paid no consequence for it. You know why? Because in 2020, Senator Cruz didn't hold up any of Donald Trump's State Department nominees when Trump was refusing to implement sanctions, when the Russians sent ships that started showing up to restart construction. Not even when construction restarted in the fall of 2020. Nope, during this time all of Trump's State Department nominees sailed through without a single Republican objection or blockade. 

“On Trump's last day in office, his last day, literally as he was packing up the Oval Office, January 19, he sanctioned one ship and the company that owned the ship. Essentially a signal of how little he cared. On the day that he was leaving, he sanctioned one company and the company that owned the ship, but by this time 95% of the pipeline was complete. It was too late, and then he begrudgingly hands over the keys to the Oval Office to Joe Biden and leaves the incoming president with a mess. A pipeline 95% built that Donald Trump could have stopped if he had used the sanctions that he was given. 

“So you can understand why some of us wonder what the motivation is behind Senator Cruz's extraordinary tactics now when the pipeline is already built. It seems that the difference between 2020 and 2021 is essentially that now there's a Democrat in the White House. This bill isn't going to help Ukraine. It's designed to hurt the President of the United States, and, unfortunately, some—not all, not all—but some of our Republican colleagues here have consistently put their desire to politically harm President Biden ahead of their desire to protect the nation. Holding up the confirmation of President Biden's nominees, it doesn't help the security of the nation. It just increases the chances that the United States won't have the personnel on hand to deal with a crisis somewhere around the world when it develops and that that failure may hurt Joe Biden's approval rating. Unfortunately, I think that's what's going on here. Unfortunately, I think that's what's going on here, and I hope that my colleagues see it.”

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