Congressman Pat Fallon Leads Letter to Administration Officials Urging Stronger Sanctions on Russia

I recently led 15 of my republican colleagues in a letter to Administration officials urging stronger economic sanctions on banks, financial institutions, and oligarchs.

I was joined in this effort by Reps. Brian Babin (TX-36), Don Bacon (NE-2), Tim Burchett (TN-2), Dan Crenshaw (TX-2), Rodney Davis (IL-13), Mike Garcia (CA-25), Louie Gohmert (TX-1), Doug Lamborn (CO-5), David McKinley (WV-1), Alex Mooney (WV-2), David Rouzer (NC-7), Maria Elvira Salazar (FL-27), Austin Scott (GA-8), Michael Waltz (FL-6), and Randy Weber (TX-14).

I issued the following statement on the letter: 

“If Russia wants to act like a pariah, they should be treated as such. Right now, there are only two countries in the world that are completely cut off from the SWIFT electronic banking system – Russia needs to be the third. While the actions undertaken by this Administration have been a step in the right direction, they are not enough. We need to financially isolate Russia from the entire world. 

Putin must understand that actions like the ones he has taken against Ukraine are not acceptable and will not be tolerated. As well as strong secondary sanctions, I urge this Administration to once and for all remove all Russian banks and financial institutions from SWIFT and sanction the remaining oligarchs on the Navalny 35 list. My colleagues and I look forward to their response.”

Rep. Salazar had this to say:

“While I applaud action being taken against the Russian regime, the United States must continue to apply pressure and increase sanctions against Putin. Even more important is ensuring that the Biden Administration properly enforces these sanctions so the Kremlin and its western henchmen — Diaz-Canel, Ortega, and Maduro — are fully cut off from the world economy,” said Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar. “The United States has a commitment to protect freedom and democracy around the world, and with that comes an obligation to punish those who threaten it. Now is not the time for us to show weakness. Doing business with the United States is a privilege, not a right… and the United States should not do business with dictators.”

Rep. Bacon added:

“Putin is tyrannical and bull-headed and the only way to show him that the rest of the world means business is to kick them out of SWIFT completely. While the measures taken so far by the President are good, they are not near enough. Financial isolation will make a huge impact on Russia’s already-impacted financial situation.”

Rep. Garcia said:

“President Biden’s sanctions against Russia thus far have been weak and inadequate. We must take actions that we know will knock down Putin, this includes sanctioning Russian energy, fully removing Russian banks from SWIFT, and sanctioning every Russian oligarch. I’m pleased to join Rep. Fallon and my fellow lawmakers in sending a letter to President Biden calling on him to take these critical actions as well as calling on him to add additional sanctions on Russia’s mineral, timber, and plastics industries. The Biden Administration must hold Vladimir Putin accountable for his unprovoked attack on Ukraine. The unlawful steps Russia is taking against Ukraine are only the beginning and the world is watching how we respond.”