rotating images House Committee on Foreign Affairs: Republicans: Statement: Opening Remarks of Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen at Mark-Up, of H.R. 6911- "Stability and Democracy for Georgia (STAND for Georgia Act) of 2008"
House Committee on Foreign Affairs: Republicans: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Member

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House Foreign Affairs Committee
U.S. House of Representatives
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Republican
 
Opening Remarks of Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen at Mark-Up,  of H.R. 6911
“Stability and Democracy for Georgia (STAND for Georgia Act) of 2008”
     
September 17, 2008
 

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you and your staff for working closely with us to produce this bipartisan bill.

The Russian invasion of Georgia has inflicted severe damage on Georgia and the Georgian people who in recent years have transformed their country into a promising democracy in a region where it is very difficult for democracy to take root.

Georgians have been driven from their homes with their lives coming to a screeching halt in areas targeted by the Russians.

They need immediate humanitarian assistance and reconstruction help to repair roads, bridges and rail lines purposely damaged by the Russian forces.

We are reallocating a portion of our existing foreign aid resources in Fiscal Year 2008 in order to expeditiously provide about half of the total requested assistance.

At a time when we are seeing a number of unexpected developments here at home--- the damage done by Hurricane Ike, the placing of Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac in conservatorship, and the continuing contraction of our credit markets --- I think it is appropriate to find ways to allocate funds from existing appropriations to assist Georgia, rather than simply appropriating new, additional funds.

So, I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for working with us to ensure that this bill does just that.

Georgia’s future --- and the future of the entire region of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe --- depends, to a great degree, on how the United States and the leading states of the European Union react in the coming weeks to the Russian invasion of Georgia.

The Russian government has aggressively and provocatively involved itself in the affairs of Georgia throughout the entire period since that small country gained its independence in 1991.

It has provided military support of all types to the separatist regions of Georgia.

It has orchestrated the grant of Russian citizenship to the residents of those separatist regions, providing an excuse with which to later intervene militarily “on their behalf”.

The so-called Russian “peacekeepers” in the separatist regions of Georgia have never been impartial but have served as simply another means by which Moscow has interfered in Georgia’s internal affairs.
 
The regime in Moscow would like nothing better than to see the disintegration of the current Georgian government and to destroy Georgia’s promising democratic path.

Georgia is vulnerable and needs our support at this critical time.

Our vote today in support of this bill will send a clear message to our friends and allies that we will stand with freedom-loving nations, rather than with those who threaten their neighbors and oppress their people.

This bill provides aid expeditiously to the Georgian people by reallocating some of our existing foreign aid funds --- and provide an incentive for our European allies to commit to funding the rest of Georgia’s assistance needs.

Thank you.