CEEC Advocates Meet with Congressional Offices to Advance Support for Nations Threatened by Russian Aggression
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Lucas Vroege
January 21, 2026 e-mail: unis@ucca.org
Central & East European Coalition Advocates Meet with Congressional Offices to Advance Support for Nations Threatened by Russian Aggression
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Thursday, January 15, representatives of the Central & East European Coalition (CEEC) met with the offices of five key members of Congress to discuss critical security issues affecting the region and U.S. strategic interests.
The bipartisan outreach included meetings with the offices of Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Representative Bill Keating (D-MA), and Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX). CEEC advocates thanked the lawmakers for their continued support for Ukraine's defense and their efforts to counter Russia's hybrid warfare tactics against NATO allies and regional partners.
The Key Policy Priorities Discussed included:
Ukraine: CEEC representatives discussed the current status of congressional appropriations for Ukraine following passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the NDAA to authorize $400 million to fund the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI). The coalition stressed the encouragement of representatives to give a special floor speech on the Ukrainian children trafficked and abducted by the Putin regime. Along with the NDAA, Republican staffers also provided the need to push Senator Lindsey Graham’s office to share with other Republican colleagues key moral issues to combat Russian narratives, including persecuted Christians in Russian occupied territories in Ukraine, by sharing critical information from foreign affairs committee hearings, including the Senate’s Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the abduction of Ukrainian Children. The CEEC informed Congressional and ethnic diaspora representatives about the upcoming Ukraine Days on Capitol Hill during the anniversary dates of the invasion on February 23-24 to continue the dialogue.
Russian Energy Sanctions: The coalition expressed strong support for two bipartisan bills introduced by Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX): the Ending Importation of Laundered Russian Oil Act and the No Aid for Russian Energy Act. These bills aim to impose critical sanctions on Russia's energy sector and close existing loopholes by banning American individuals and companies from providing crucial energy supplies, services, equipment, and software to Russian energy institutions.
Georgian Security and Strategic Alignment: CEEC urged passage of the MEGOBARI Act, raising alarm that the Georgian government’s actions are creating serious vulnerabilities for U.S. and regional security. CEEC elaborated on how Georgia has become vulnerable to covert operations and sanctions evasion by Iran, China, and Russia. CEEC emphasized that passing the MEGOBARI Act would demonstrate that the United States will not tolerate anti-American rhetoric, malign influence, or misappropriation of U.S. investment in the South Caucasus.
Baltic Security Initiative: The coalition highlighted the importance of the Baltic Security Initiative (BSI) as a tool to help NATO partners resist Russian aggression along with the raising the importance of the USAI. All three Baltic nations have exceeded NATO defense spending targets. While BSI funding has been authorized by the NDAA, appropriations are pending in the upcoming defense spending bill.
CEEC continues to work with allies in Congress who recognize the challenge to U.S. security and economic interests posed by the Putin regime and encourages support for these legislative initiatives.
CEEC Statement on the Passage of NDAA
The Central & East European Coalition (CEEC) would like to thank Congressional leaders and President Trump for signing the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law. We would like to remind Congress of the importance of pursuing a regional strategy to combat hybrid warfare tactics which include border incursions, cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, energy weaponization, and corruption.
Letter to the Trump Administration regarding abducted Ukrainian Children
This letter to the White House asserts the importance in the U.S. support to ensure the 20,000+ Ukrainian children abducted to Russia and Russian held territories. It emphasizes the need to recognition their return back to their respected families and that children should never be used as leverage for negotiations to end the war.
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The CEEC released a statement on August 22 thanking President Trump engaging with President Zelensky and European leaders to commence discussions for the end of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukriane and security guarantees for Ukraine. The statement also lists policy recommendations on what an ideal path forward to achieve peace through strengthen.
CEEC Statement on the MEGOBARI Act in the U.S. House of Representatives
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CEEC Statement on The Abduction of Ukrainian Children
One hope to which grieving families could cling was a U.S.-based program at the Yale School of Public Health Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) that tracked those children. It had collected a tremendous amount of critical data on these children’s whereabouts. The move to freeze funding led to fears that such data and tracking could be discontinued, lost, deleted, or the safety of these kidnapped children jeopardized.
CEEC Supports Immediate Restoration of Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
The CEEC vehemently opposes the Trump administration’s move to dismantle the Voice of America (VOA) and its sister organizations, Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), as well as Radio Free Asia (RFA) and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB).
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On behalf of the members of the Central and East European Coalition (CEEC), representing over 20 million Americans, we write in response to your recent remarks in Munich concerning Ukraine.
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It is time to assert that both the Holodomor and the current war of Russian aggression against Ukraine are genocides.
CEEC Statement on the Georgian “Transparency of Foreign Influence” Bill and the U.S. Response
The CEEC strongly condemns the Kremlin-inspired bill “On the Transparency of Foreign Influence”, passed in the Georgian parliament, as it suppresses civic freedoms and damages Georgia’s strategic partnership with the U.S. and its Euro-Atlantic aspirations
Congress should pass the National Security Supplemental Funding Bill now
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Send Frozen Assets to Ukraine
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The CEEC released a statement on August 22 thanking President Trump engaging with President Zelensky and European leaders to commence discussions for the end of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukriane and security guarantees for Ukraine. The statement also lists policy recommendations on what an ideal path forward to achieve peace through strengthen.
CEEC Webinar Transatlantic Security in Peril - November 2, 2022
Featuring Dr. Agnia Grigas and Paul Massaro
