{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.schatz.senate.gov/news/press-releases/ranking-member-schatz-opening-remarks-at-appropriations-subcommittee-hearing-on-abduction-of-ukrainian-children-by-russia", "Ranking Member Schatz Opening Remarks At Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing On Abduction Of Ukrainian Children By Russia", "2025-12-03", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "HI", "Brian Schatz", "S001194", "www.schatz.senate.gov", "schatz", "https://www.schatz.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai\u2018i), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, delivered the following remarks at the subcommittee\u2019s hearing on the abduction of Ukrainian children by the Russian Federation.\n\n\u201cThe systematic abduction of Ukrainian children by the Russian government is a horrific tragedy for the thousands of families victimized by Putin. But it\u2019s also an issue of global concern. Here in the Senate, colleagues on both sides of the aisle have been working to support efforts to track and return children and hold perpetrators accountable,\u201d said Senator Schatz.\n\nSchatz continued, \u201cBut I want to be perfectly clear: any peace plan that lets Putin walk away from this war \u2013 having illegally seized Ukrainian territory, kidnapped thousands of Ukrainian children, and caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people on both sides \u2013 with no consequences is unacceptable.\u201d\n\nA transcript of Senator Schatz\u2019s remarks can be found below. Video is available here.\n\nThank you, Chairman Graham, for convening this hearing and for your continued leadership on this important issue.\n\nThe systematic abduction of Ukrainian children by the Russian government is a horrific tragedy for the thousands of families victimized by Putin. But it\u2019s also an issue of global concern. Here in the Senate, colleagues on both sides of the aisle have been working to support efforts to track and return children and hold perpetrators accountable. That vital work continues, and I hope today\u2019s discussion will add to those efforts.\n\nBut I want to be perfectly clear: any peace plan that lets Putin walk away from this war \u2013 having illegally seized Ukrainian territory, kidnapped thousands of Ukrainian children, and caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people on both sides \u2013 with no consequences is unacceptable. It would set a very dangerous precedent for the world, not to mention, undermine future peace in the region. I\u2019m disappointed that the State Department declined to participate in today\u2019s hearing. But I hope that the administration will be briefing us about these talks very soon.\n\nAs I noted, there has been a bipartisan effort to address Russia\u2019s mass abduction of Ukrainian children. And yet, earlier this year, the Trump administration abruptly ended a contract which jeopardized work to get critical data, including on abducted children, to the Ukrainian government and European law enforcement.\n\nIt\u2019s one of the many instances where the administration has eliminated, undermined, or disregarded bipartisan priorities that are under the purview of this subcommittee. And it\u2019s why it\u2019s so important that we negotiate and enact a bipartisan SFOPS bill for the current fiscal year. The bill is critical for protecting American interests through targeted security and economic assistance for key allies and partners, like Ukraine.\n\nAnd to do that well, the bill needs to restore transparency, strengthen the State Department\u2019s workforce, meet our international commitments, and ensure compliance with the law. We shouldn\u2019t have to wonder whether funds are being spent as we intended or hear second-hand that critical efforts that we all support are gone.\n\nFor today, I\u2019m interested in hearing from our witnesses about what\u2019s required to return, reintegrate, and rehabilitate Ukrainian children and how we can best help.\n\nI\u2019m also interested in how we can support law enforcement efforts, including national prosecutors and courts, as well as the International Criminal Court, which has indicted Putin for war crimes associated with the abduction of these children.\n\nI want to thank our witnesses for their testimony. And I look forward to the discussion.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.schatz.senate.gov/news/press-releases/ranking-member-schatz-opening-remarks-at-appropriations-subcommittee-hearing-on-abduction-of-ukrainian-children-by-russia"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5206411480903625, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}