[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 348 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 348

  Supporting the right of the people of Ukraine to freely elect their 
                 government and determine their future.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 7, 2015

   Mr. Cicilline (for himself, Mr. Sires, Mr. Engel, Mr. Royce, Mr. 
   Deutch, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
 DesJarlais, Mr. Israel, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Ms. Slaughter, 
   Ms. Frankel of Florida, Mr. Marino, Mr. Ribble, Mr. Connolly, Mr. 
McGovern, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Kinzinger of Illinois, Mrs. Ellmers of North 
   Carolina, Mr. Duncan of South Carolina, Mr. Rokita, Mr. Reed, Mr. 
Blumenauer, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. Poe of Texas, Mr. Yoho, Mr. Meeks, 
 Ms. Bass, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Langevin, Mr. 
     Keating, Ms. Kaptur, and Mr. Carney) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Supporting the right of the people of Ukraine to freely elect their 
                 government and determine their future.

Whereas a pro-democratic reform government emerged in Ukraine after then-
        President Viktor Yanukovych signed an agreement on February 21, 2014, 
        transferring power to the opposition and then fled the country;
Whereas following the resignation of President Yanukovych, Russian President 
        Vladimir Putin ordered the forcible and illegal occupation of the 
        Crimean region of Ukraine in March 2014;
Whereas Russian-led separatists have forcibly seized large areas of Ukraine and 
        continue their attacks on Ukrainian forces;
Whereas the Russian Federation has continued to engage in relentless political, 
        economic, and military aggression to subvert the independence and 
        violate the territorial integrity of Ukraine;
Whereas the United States has supported the democratically elected Government of 
        Ukraine, as it represents the will of the people of Ukraine, and 
        Congress has passed multiple pieces of legislation to provide support to 
        Ukraine;
Whereas Congress passed the Sovereignty, Integrity, Democracy, and Economic 
        Stability of Ukraine Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-95), which authorized 
        loan guarantees for the Government of Ukraine;
Whereas Congress passed the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-
        272), which authorized the Administration to provide the Ukrainian 
        Government with support to facilitate necessary reforms, and stated that 
        it is U.S. policy to assist the Government of Ukraine in restoring its 
        sovereignty and territorial integrity;
Whereas in September 2014, a cease-fire agreement was brokered between the 
        Government of Ukraine, Russian officials, and Russian-led insurgents, 
        but fighting has continued and the agreement was never fully 
        implemented;
Whereas in February 2015, Ukraine, Russia, and Russian-led insurgents agreed to 
        an additional cease-fire, known as the Minsk Implementation Agreement or 
        Minsk 2;
Whereas pursuant to the Minsk agreements, local elections are to be held by the 
        end of 2015 in regions controlled by Russian-led insurgents and legal 
        and constitutional reforms are to be negotiated to give a special status 
        to the region;
Whereas the United States continues to receive reports of extensive violations 
        by Russia and Russian-led forces in the eastern region of Ukraine;
Whereas the United States has assisted in many elections around the world, 
        including Ukraine's Presidential election in May 25, 2014, to ensure 
        that international election standards are upheld;
Whereas early parliamentary elections were held on October 26, 2014, but 29 of 
        the 450 seats in parliament were not filled due to the inability to hold 
        elections in districts controlled by separatists;
Whereas, despite the disenfranchisement of people living in separatist-
        controlled regions, international election observers declared the 
        parliamentary elections to have met international standards;
Whereas Ukraine and Russia are members of the Organization for Security and 
        Cooperation in Europe and party to its commitments, including the 1990 
        Copenhagen Document which states that member states ``will respect each 
        other's right freely to choose and develop, in accordance with 
        international human rights standards, their political, social, economic 
        and cultural systems'' and that ``free elections that will be held at 
        reasonable intervals by secret ballot or by equivalent free voting 
        procedure, under conditions which ensure in practice the free expression 
        of the opinion of the electors in the choice of their representatives'';
Whereas the next local elections are scheduled to take place in Ukraine on 
        October 25, 2015;
Whereas these elections are critical to continued legislative and constitutional 
        reform in Ukraine; and
Whereas the United States is supporting efforts to promote citizen engagement in 
        the constitutional reform process, educating voters, and election 
        monitoring: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) strongly supports the right of the people of Ukraine to 
        freely elect their government and determine their future;
            (2) urges the Administration to expedite assistance to 
        Ukraine to facilitate the political, economic, and social 
        reforms necessary for free and fair elections that meet 
        international standards; and
            (3) condemns attempts on the part of any outside forces, 
        including the Government of Russia, its agents or supporters, 
        to interfere in Ukraine's elections, including through 
        interference, intimidation, violence, or coercion.
                                 <all>