Russia’s Appetite for more Countries

It’s not merely Ukraine. According to the UK’s Independent, Andrej Illarionov, Putin’s chief economic adviser from 2000 to 2005, the Russian leader seeks to create “historical justice” with a return to the days of the last Tsar, Nicholas II, and the Soviet Union under Stalin. What The Torn Curtain 1991 has referred to as Russia’s manifest destiny.

Speaking to the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, Illarionov warned that Russia will argue that the granting of independence to Finland in 1917 was an act of “treason against national interests.”

“Putin’s view is that he protects what belongs to him and his predecessors,” Illarionov said.  “Parts of Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic States and Finland are states where Putin claims to have ownership.

He added: “The West’s leaders seem, from what they say, entirely to have forgotten that there are some leaders in the world who want to conquer other countries.”

Thanks to Putin, Russia must not be allowed to return to the G-8. Seven is quite adequate. Russia’s global activity must also be curbed until it demonstrates that it deserves to sit at the same table with other civilized countries.

Russian War Threat Escalating

Russia is again increasing the number of troops and military on the border with Ukraine. With its mercenaries and troops already waging war inside Ukraine, this latest escalation is causing concern in Kyiv and other world capitals.

Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, on Tuesday warned the risk of invasion by Russia into Ukraine has intensified. “We have reasons to believe that the threat of a direct intervention is certainly bigger than a few days ago,” Tusk said, citing intelligence received in recent hours, at a press conference.

Tusk added the West doesn’t have a clear answer ready if Russian forces do enter the country. He was quoting as replying to his own observation by saying that he would react the same way if he was confronted by a rabid dog.

Russia has massed around 20,000 combat-ready troops on Ukraine's border and could use the pretext of a humanitarian mission to invade, NATO confirmed on Wednesday, expressing its starkest warning yet that Moscow could soon mount a ground assault against Ukraine.

“We’re not going to guess what’s on Russia’s mind, but we can see what Russia is doing on the ground – and that is of great concern. Russia has amassed around 20,000 combat-ready troops on Ukraine’s eastern border,” NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said in an emailed statement. Russia could use “the pretext of a humanitarian or peace-keeping mission as an excuse to send troops into Eastern Ukraine,” she said.

In the wake of this escalation, US officials joined the chorus of governments warning Russia not to proceed.

The threat of an incursion is “reality,” US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters in Germany on Wednesday.

“It’s a reality, of course it is,” Hagel said at the headquarters of the US European Command in Stuttgart, Germany. “When you see the buildup of these troops, the sophistication and training of these troops, the heavy military equipment that’s being put on the border, of course it’s a reality and it’s a possibility.”

The current Russian troop build-up on the border is not the first time Russia has sent forces there. NATO estimated Russia had as many as 40,000 troops in place in the spring before Putin pulled them back in June.

So why is the world waiting? The US and Ukraine’s allies must not let their attention divert from this danger. Even one step across the border by Russian forces must be met with universal retribution and condemnation.

Decolonization of Russia

The unexpected announcement by Siberians that they have launched a quest for independence, sovereignty and self-determination from Russia is a welcome development that bodes well for the pursuit of global democracy.

Today Russia is the last colonial empire on earth, still enslaving dozens of nations and ethnic groups.

From small beginnings around Moscow, over more than a millennia Russia has expanded in three directions, from what is today Germany to the Black Sea and the Pacific Ocean – a distance of 14 time zones.

Russia expanded with the help of weapons and fire and kept its colonies intact the same way. Blood flowed freely in the Russian empire – regardless if it was tsarist, communist or now federalist.

However, fortunately, humankind’s quest for independence and freedom knows no bounds and slowly the captive nations began to break free of Russia. First the so-called Eastern European satellite countries left the Soviet Russian empire in the 1970s and then the so-called soviet republics began to declare their independence that contributed to the implosion of the Soviet Russian empire in the early 1990s.

It seemed as if the iron curtain was finally torn down. However, remaining inside the latest version of the Russian empire are dozens of nations, peoples and ethnic groups, still hoping for wind of freedom to leach into their lands.

The latest major crack in Russia’s prison of nations came this week with the revelation that Siberians are seeking self-determination from Russia and this reportedly is adding to the Kremlin’s headaches.

Siberia – a land that conjures images of desolation, frigid temperatures and concentration camps. However, it also offers the potential of virtually boundless untapped natural resources and a vital defense outpost for Russia’s eastern flank on the Pacific Ocean.

Undoubtedly, Putin wouldn’t want Siberia to go the way of the other captive nations on his watch.

Earlier this week Siberians, who have already designed their own national flag based on the design of the “Stars and Stripes,” planned to hold an independence march on August 17 in Novosibirsk, Siberia’s largest city, but Moscow quickly put an end to that plan. While advocating separatism in Ukraine, Moscow again emphatically showed that it will not tolerate secessionists inside the federal Russian empire.

BBC and other western news outlets working in Russia had interviewed the leader of the Siberian movement, Artyom Loskutov, and they were quickly reprimanded and threatened for such an audacious concept. Russia’s media monitor Roskomnadzor insisted that BBC delete the interview from its web or face possible expulsion from Russia. Fortunately, the broadcaster didn’t succumb to Moscow’s bullying.

UK’s Guardian reported that Russia’s prosecutor general issued warnings to 14 media outlets covering the protest under the country’s extremism law, and blocked an event page for the march on Russia’s most popular social network. The editor of Slon.ru, which was forced by the prosecutor general to remove an interview with Loskutov, later argued in a Facebook post that the article did not violate the extremism law because it did not name a specific time or place. It also noted that the activists had not yet been given permission for the march.

The Novosibirsk mayor’s office earlier this week reportedly denied permission to hold the march “in order to ensure the inviolability of the constitutional order, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Russian Federation.” Under that law, Moscow will curtail human rights of all citizens.

Loskutov, a young artist known for organizing an annual absurdist rally called Monstration, told the Guardian that the activists had re-applied for permission to hold a March for the Inviolability and Observation of the Principles of Federalism.

Loskutov was quoted as saying the Novosibirsk protest was meant to both ridicule the Kremlin’s hypocrisy on self-determination in Ukraine and to raise the issue of Siberia’s delayed development. Most of Russia’s oil and gas output comes from western Siberia, but the region lags behind Moscow, St Petersburg and some southern areas in quality of life ratings, he said.

“It’s using the rhetoric that our government and their propaganda use,” Loskutov explained. “They decided to tell us how great it is when some republic moves for self-determination. Okay, well let’s apply this to other regions. Can Siberia allow itself this same rhetoric? It turns out it can’t.”

Andrei Piontkovsky, a liberal Russian political analyst, correctly observed to RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service that by encouraging separatism abroad Russia may have “shot itself in the foot” at home. He said Russians may begin to ask “Why can there be separatism in Donetsk, and if that's fine, why can't there also be separatism in Russia, in Siberia?”

We wish Siberians God speed with their quest. We hope that the freedom-minded idea that Loskutov is propagating will permeate throughout Russia and cause Russians and non-Russians alike to wonder “why not us?” and thereby chip away at the Russian empire.

USA Offers Military Aid to Ukraine

The United States has finally understood the dire situation that Ukrainian military units are facing in the war with Russia. The regular Ukrainian Armed Forces, the National Guard of Ukraine and volunteer paramilitary units have been bravely engaging Russian terrorists in eastern Ukraine with surprising combat victories. Some have even said that the battle for Donetsk will be the Russians’ Rubicon.

That is heartwarming. However, to win the war against Russia, with its vast military arsenal, Ukraine will need more than Washington’s best wishes and support. It will need hands-on help.

Last week, the Pentagon decided to send equipment and aid to Ukraine including armored vehicles and increased training.

USA Today quoted Eileen Lainez, a Pentagon spokeswoman, who said the help includes armored personnel carriers, cargo and patrol vehicles, binoculars, night vision goggles and small patrol boats. The equipment is valued at $8 million and follows a similar $7 million package of equipment shipped in April. Vice-President Biden confirmed this in a telephone call to President Poroshenko.

Earlier the Pentagon had announced a proposed $19 million aid package to help train the National Guard of Ukraine. The money will help train four companies of guardsmen and a headquarters element, Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said. The proposal requires congressional approval and would begin in 2015. Trainers would come from US forces in Europe or the California National Guard, which has partnered with Ukrainian troops in the past. Hopefully Congress will approve the package as soon as it returns from vacation.

Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a strong supporter of Ukraine, acknowledged that Ukraine’s military is making progress in pushing back Russian mercenaries. He urged the White House to authorize shipments of anti-tank weapons.

Washington cannot shirk its responsibility to help Ukraine in its uneven war with Russia just as it didn’t turn its back on France and England during World War II. Yes, what Russia is doing is the same that Nazi Germany did 75 years ago.

The Senate is not standing aside of this campaign to help Ukraine. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL), along with 18 senators, sent a letter to President Obama requesting that the US designate the main pro-Russian organizations of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) under US Law. This would be a major slap in Russia’s face, acknowledging that it launched this terror campaign against Ukraine.

According to the State Department, the FTO designation “impacts travel related to terrorist organizations, makes it a crime to provide material support to terrorist organizations, and freezes the financial accounts of terrorist organizations in US financial institutions.” Currently, 52 organizations are designated as FTOs, including such nefarious actors as Al-Qaida, Hamas and Hezbollah. The designation could have a significant impact on Russian interests in the United States if the US determined them as providing “material support” to the rebels.

“Russia should pay a heavy price for its invasion of Ukraine and support of the terrorist groups that shot down MH17,” Kirk said. “The designation of the separatists as terrorists under US law is overdue, and I call on the President to take this step immediately so we significantly raise the costs for Putin for his violation of international norms and Ukraine's sovereignty.”

Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), John Barrasso (R-WY), Richard Burr (R-NC), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Dan Coats (R-IN), John Cornyn (R-TX), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Johnny Isakson (R-GF), Ron Johnson (R-WI), John McCain (R-AZ), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Jim Risch (R-ID), Pat Roberts (R-KN), Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) also signed the letter.

If your senator is not on board, contact his or her office and insist that he or she joins the campaign.

Unfortunately, President Obama continues to misunderstand Ukraine’s situation. He fails to recognize that the Russian war with Ukraine was inevitable because Russia’s manifest destiny is global domination, which also threatens the United States.

Last Friday Obama naively told Putin that the US merely remains deeply concerned that Russia is ramping up support for pro-Russian terrorists in Ukraine. Russian mercenaries are indiscriminately targeting and killing civilians and soldiers and the White House is concerned.

“I indicated to him, just as we will do what we say we do in terms of sanctions, we’ll also do what we say in terms of wanting to resolve this issue diplomatically if he takes a different position,” Obama told reporters later.

Putin must have been laughing hysterically on the other side of the phone conversation.

The Ukrainian nation, after enduring centuries of abuse, persecution, murder and another war with Russia does not deserve the insult of a diplomatic solution. Russia must be subdued, defeated and expelled from Ukraine. It must be forced to sign an internationally guaranteed treaty with Ukraine stating that it will never again invade Ukraine.

A note of acknowledgment about Col. Andriy Lysenko, spokesman for the National Defense and Security Council of Ukraine. His task is to meet with reporters, explain what happened on the battlefront and answer their questions. His balanced, informed, knowledgeable, professional behavior infinitely boosts his credibility and the righteousness of Ukraine’s cause. Good job, Colonel!

Democracy Continues to Shrivel in Russia

The enigma that is Russia for some is filling out step by step every day, giving pundits, world leaders, doubters, naysayers and the entire global community a clearer picture of the threat Moscow is posing to international peace, stability and security.

Russia, with its omnipotent leader Vladimir Putin, has set out on a dangerous course of global domination. Its invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Ukrainian land is but one recent example of its violent external expansion.

Domestically, the Kremlin and its so-called legislative bodies, which are merely rubber stamps for Putin’s whims, are tightening their grips on all forms of freedom of expression, even outlawing the LGBT community and arresting anyone wearing Ukrainian colors, thereby squeezing out the last drops of democracy from society. Non-governmental organizations, which are the foundation of democracies around the globe, have also come under fire with those receiving support from overseas subject to charges of treason.

Then today, a draconian law restricting freedom of the press via blogging was signed into effect by Putin. The law requires registration of this popular form of reporting in a list compiled by the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media (Roskombadzor), which would partially equate them to journalists.

The law is included in the framework of an “anti-terrorist package” implying that bloggers are terrorists – and consequently could be enemies of the state.  The law pointed out that a blogger is a person who places universal-access information intended for a mass audience, on a personal page in the Internet. Bloggers, whose posts are read by more than 3,000 users per 24 hours, must be included in the Roskombadzor register. The law also introduces such a notion as organizer of the dissemination of information in the Internet.

The blogger may either file an application for registration on his own upon filling an e-form on a special website, or wait for a notification about the need to register from Roskombadzor.

The registered bloggers will be required to list information about themselves on their pages, prevent the use of the information for criminal purposes, avoid unverified information, intrusion into the private life and denigration of the honor of other citizens.

This stricture was condemned by civil rights experts around the world.

Remi Piet, assistant professor of public policy, diplomacy and international political economy at Qatar University observed in Al Jazeera: “Since the escalation in Ukraine in early spring, news websites have been under the close scrutiny of Roskomnadzor, especially those of independent media outlets and blogs of key opposition leaders. Several have been blocked since the beginning of the year, including the official website of Alexei Navalny, who finished second in the recent mayoral elections in Moscow, running on a political platform of the liberalisation of politics and fighting corruption. The website of opposition leader and former World Chess Champion, Gary Kasparov, was also censored.”

It was certain that as Russia expands its anti-democratic policies and aggression, Putin would shackle the freest form of journalist expression – the blogger.

While it is a new phenomenon, blogging has contributed to some of the most insightful analyses of world events, especially those that threaten the safety of societies. They have become the bane of dictators around the world.

Hugh Williamson, of New York-based Human Rights Watch, called the law after it was adopted by the Russian parliament in April “another milestone in Russia’s relentless crackdown on free expression.”

Russian blogger Oleg Kozyrev opined that “every blogger might face a threat of criminal prosecution,” adding that he does not intend to register his Web site.

Kozyrev was further quoted as saying that he expected that many of his colleagues would resort to a Soviet-era habit of making their points elliptically to avoid outright confrontation with authorities.

“There is a tradition in Russian literature of fables, and of speaking figuratively and hinting,” he said. “They won’t say what they really mean, but people will guess.”

While it is a new phenomenon, it is a recognized craft that deserves protection, according to opinions expressed by United Nations officials.

Donna Ann Welton, deputy director for communications, United States Mission to the United Nations, pointed out: “As communications technologies evolve, we are reminded that all individuals are entitled to the same human rights and fundamental freedoms online as they are offline, and all governments must protect those rights regardless of the medium. We must also recognize the importance of journalists and we call on all governments to protect the ability of journalists, bloggers, and dissidents to write and speak freely without retribution.”

With Russian mass media – TV, radio and publications – forced to perpetuate lies and fabrications about internal events, Russia’s war with Ukraine, and its downing of MH17, Russians will have limited access to accurate, fair, balanced and credible accounts of what’s happening. Perhaps today’s media lies have contributed to Putin’s unbelievable high popularity – or perhaps even that’s a lie.

As long as Putin remains in power in Russia, all segments of Russian society will suffer. Ultimately, the international community will also suffer.

Go Ahead, Knock this Stick off My Shoulder, I Dare Ya

Repetitive threats of tough and tougher sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine and shooting down MH17 remind me of reluctant schoolyard dares to knock it off. Go ahead, knock it off, I dare ya.

To be fair, US, Canada and the EU have imposed punitive sanctions against Russia, which reportedly have cost Russian oligarchs some $14.5 billion. But Russia’s aggression and killings continue unabated. Nothing seems to be convincing Putin that he must cease and desist or else his belligerent polices will bring Russia and Russians Nazi-like disgrace for generations.

Washington and other capitals that are endeavoring to bring Russia to its senses haven’t yet convinced Russia of their resolve because Russia raises its criminal ante everything the US and EU reply by warning Moscow that if it does that once more, they will then really punish Russia. Go ahead, knock it off, I dare ya.

Apparently frustrated by Putin’s aggressive obstinacy, the European Union and the United States on Tuesday, July 29, announced what they consider significant additional sanctions against Russia, targeting its energy, banking and defense sectors. The declared sanctions were touted as the strongest international reaction yet over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in hopes that it would back down from its war to subjugate Ukraine.

“Russia is once again isolating itself from the international community,” President Obama was quoted as saying, claiming that the US sanctions will have an “even bigger bite” thanks to action by the Europeans. 

“If Russia continues on this current path, the costs on Russia will continue to grow,” Obama said in Washington. “Russia’s actions in Ukraine and the sanctions that we’ve already imposed have made a weak Russian economy even weaker.”

Obama said the US sanctions would hit the finance, arms and energy sectors of Russia’s economy. Among the US sanctions, according to the Treasury Department, are penalties that target the Bank of Moscow, the Russian Agricultural Bank and VTB Bank. Also listed on the Treasury designation is the United Shipbuilding Corp., which is based in St. Petersburg. 

Obama said the US is also blocking the export of certain goods and technologies to the Russian energy sector, and suspending credit “that encourages exports to Russia and financing for economic development projects in Russia.”

In Brussels, diplomats said ambassadors from the 28-member European bloc agreed to restrictions on trade of equipment for the oil and defense sectors, and “dual use” technology with both defense and civilian purposes. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Putin’s biggest supporter who had been reluctant to step up sanctions before the crash because of her country's trade links with Russia, said the latest EU measures were “unavoidable.” Russia’s state run banks would be barred from raising funds in European capital markets. The measures would be reviewed in three months and they’re supposed to be enacted August 1.

The word “if” and the lack of immediacy will not convince Putin of the West’s conviction. Also, it is unknown how much financial pain the Russian oligarchs, most of whom are loyal Putinists, are prepared to tolerate. Is $14.5 billion enough? Will $20 billion send them over the top and spark a revolution against Putin?

Regrettably, Putin has shown no sign of backing down now or in the face of future sanctions or threats. Indeed, despite the virtually universal global condemnation following the downing of MH17, Western countries have said Russia hasn’t backed down but rather it stepped up support for Russian terrorists in Ukraine by sending them more tanks, artillery, rockets and heavy weapons.

News media noted that London’s financial could face disproportionate harm from measures against Russian banks. German manufacturing firms could also lose customers. European banks and other creditors that are owed money by Russians may face a greater risk that clients will have trouble refinancing or repaying their loans. Perhaps those are the real reasons for hesitation.

“These sanctions are harder than anything we have ever had before,” said James Nixey of British think tank Chatham House. “It will hurt a little bit but it’s a down payment on the future security of Europe. It's a question of Western credibility.”

So far the down payment has not convinced the aggressor.

Sen. John McCain’s quaint warning that there would be hell to pay if Russia doesn’t cooperate with the international investigation about the downing of MH17 can be extended without exaggeration to Russia’s behavior not only over the past six months but through centuries. Hell wasn’t paid because Russia has a large letter of credit from Lucifer. Last week McCain called Europe’s tepid sanctions on Russia are “a joke” that will only encourage further aggression from Putin.

“It's a joke and they will do nothing and I predicted they would do nothing,” McCain was quoted as aptly remarking. “They will continue to do nothing until the day they become independent of Russian energy. Until then they will talk.”

McCain’s allusion was correct. How long will the US and EU tolerate Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and its neighbors? The former captive nations feel the threat but when will Berlin and Paris?

The Washington Post stated in an editorial on July 24 that Putin “has responded to the international outrage over the destruction of a Malaysian airliner by his proxies in eastern Ukraine by escalating his aggression.” The newspaper noted that the Russian leader “is clearly not impressed” by the West’s response and sanctions.

Criticizing Obama’s halfhearted response to Russia’s aggression, The Washington Post correctly opined that the US “has already missed the opportunity for swift action to stop Mr. Putin’s escalation. If he does not act soon, it may be too late to save Ukraine.”

Will Ukraine, 23 years after declaring its independence from Russia, be lost on our watch?

Economic sanctions have so far been ineffective because Putin has scoffed at them. He is keenly keeping his eye on regional and then global domination – Russia’s manifest destiny. The US, Canada and EU must up the ante. They must declare Russia a global terrorist state, exclude it from international affairs, ostracize it from the table, stop trading with it, and sever diplomatic relations with Moscow.

They also have to take to heart the sobering conclusion by Leonid Nevzlin of OJSC “Yukos Oil Company,” the Russian petroleum company, that the only salvation for Russia – and the world – is Putin’s ouster from power.

US Congress Urges Putin to Stand Down

With Russia’s war against Ukraine escalating, President Poroshenko has been busy appealing to the US Congress and White House for moral and practical help. Indeed the US, Canada and EU have been in the forefront of condemning Russia for its belligerence against Ukraine and threatening it with additional sanctions if Moscow doesn’t stand down.

Last week Poroshenko called on the Congress to recognize militants and organizations acting eastern Ukraine, as well as those who support them, as terrorists. “It will be an important gesture of solidarity that we are expecting from the entire world,” he pointed out.

His call dovetailed with what many in Ukraine and around the world have been saying about Russian mercenaries and regular troops and officers fighting against Ukrainian armed forces in eastern Ukraine. They are terrorists – and not merely for the amount of death and destruction that they’ve sown. There have been credible reports that Russian invading forces have used civilian residences for target practice.

Poroshenko emphasized that you cannot call those who kill innocent people separatists -- they are terrorists. “Each person in the world must feel how dangerous it is for everyone,” he said.

He pointed out that if anticipated sanctions against Russia do not work – and delaying enacting them do not help, there are grounds to request Congress for a special status of “Major Non-NATO Ally of the United States” that has already been granted to Israel, Australia and the Philippines.

“It is a threat for the whole world. It is not a conflict inside Ukraine. Ukrainian nation is united as never before and the world should find the right answer to the actions of terrorists,” he emphasized.

In the halls of Congress, Congressional Ukrainian Caucus co-Chairs Reps. Jim Gerlach (PA-6th District), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) and Sander Levin (D-MI) on Thursday, July 24, introduced legislation to provide a clear and specific process to provide direct military and security assistance to the Government of Ukraine as it seeks to strengthen its democracy and prevent Russian violence and aggression within its borders.
HR 5190, the proposed Ukraine Security Assistance Act of 2014, would reinforce the strong relationship between the US and Ukraine and take an important step toward helping Ukraine neutralize the military-support advantage that Russian terrorists are using to target civilian and military aircraft in eastern Ukraine and foster violence and instability across that country.  This legislation would authorize the president to work with the government of Ukraine to assess that country’s military, intelligence, and security needs and provide adequate and necessary assistance to protect Ukrainian democracy and sovereignty.

“The Ukrainian people have made clear their desire to build a stronger democratic self-government and establish closer ties to the European Union and the west,” Gerlach said.  “Unfortunately, as recent events have demonstrated, the Russian Federation will not honor Ukraine’s sovereignty and will continue to meddle within Ukraine’s border until it has broken the spirit of the Ukrainian people.  The evidence released by US and Ukrainian intelligence authorities shows without a doubt that rebel separatists and hired thugs, armed with superior Russian technology and weapons, continue to foment havoc and instability. The bipartisan legislation we introduced today is another important step towards reaffirming the United States’ commitment to helping our Ukrainian allies develop as a fully democratic nation.”

This is the type of support Ukraine needs and deserves now. Ukraine is in the throes of a war for its independence, freedom and continued democratic evolution. The display support from the public officials of the United States and other free countries must be relentless.

HR 5190 was also supported by Rep. Marcy Kaptur [D-OH-9], Rep. Sander Levin [D-MI-9], Rep. Louise Slaughter [D-NY-25], Rep. David Joyce [R-OH-14], Rep. Patrick Tiberi [R-OH-12], Rep. James Renacci [R-OH-16], Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. [D-NJ-9], Rep. Tom Marino [R-PA-10], Rep. Steve Stivers [R-OH-15], and  Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick [R-PA-8].