[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4721 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4721
To prohibit the authorization of Federal funds to facilitate Russian
participation in G7 or reconstituted G8 meetings, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 17, 2019
Ms. Hill of California (for herself and Mr. Sires) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the authorization of Federal funds to facilitate Russian
participation in G7 or reconstituted G8 meetings, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``No Russia in G7 Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Group of Seven, or G7, is a group of the seven
largest advanced economies in the world and includes Canada,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the
United States, with the European Union as an observer.
(2) The G7 countries are all democracies and focused on
strengthening democratic governance globally.
(3) In 1997, the G7 invited the Russian Federation to join
the group, in recognition of the Russian political and economic
reforms underway at that time.
(4) In 2014, Russia invaded Ukraine and illegally occupied
Crimea.
(5) In the aftermath of this aggression, the G8 decided to
suspend Russia's membership, issuing a statement labeling
Russia's invasion a violation of international law that could
have ``grave implications for the legal order that protects
unity and sovereignty of all states''.
(6) In the wake of Russia's suspension, the remaining
countries reconstituted themselves as the G7.
(7) Since 2014, Russia has repeatedly interfered in
democratic elections in G7 countries, including the 2016 United
States presidential election, and continues to conduct
disinformation and covert influence campaigns against many of
the G7 countries.
(8) In June 2018, the G7 created the G7 Rapid Response
Mechanism, with the mandate to ``identify and respond to
diverse and evolving threats to our democracies''.
(9) Then-Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats,
testified before Congress on January 29, 2019, that Russia is
``stepping up its campaign to divide Western political and
security institutions'' and ``we expect Russia will continue to
wage its information war against democracies and to use social
media to attempt to divide our societies''.
(10) Russia continues to flout the Minsk agreements by
directly leading and indirectly supporting separatist forces in
Ukraine.
(11) Russia continues to make attempts to tighten its hold
on Crimea by further militarizing the territory and offering
Russian passports to its residents.
(12) Russia continues to illegally occupy Crimea and has
stepped up its aggressive acts against Ukraine.
(13) Despite this behavior, President Trump continues to
advocate for an end to Russia's suspension from the G7 with no
preconditions.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Russian Federation must end its occupation of
Ukraine and cease its malign activities against G7 nations as
preconditions for readmission into a reconstituted G8; and
(2) no official representatives of the United States
Government, including the President of the United States,
should use the power of their office to advocate for Russia's
readmission into a reconstituted G8 unless Russia meets the
conditions described in section 4(b).
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS TO FACILITATE RUSSIAN
PARTICIPATION.
(a) Prohibition.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no
Federal funds may be appropriated or otherwise made available for any
action supporting or facilitating--
(1) the participation of Russia in a Group of Seven
proceeding; or
(2) the reconstitution of the Group of Eight to include
Russia.
(b) Termination.--The prohibition under subsection (a) shall
terminate on the date that is 30 days after the date on which the
Secretary of State certifies to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate that--
(1) the Government of the Russian Federation, and all
persons acting as an agent of or otherwise on behalf of such
Government, has halted all interference in United States
elections;
(2) such Government has ended its illegal occupation of the
Ukranian territory of Crimea and is fully implementing its
commitments under the Minsk agreements with respect to eastern
Ukraine; and
(3) such Government is taking affirmative steps to cease
its campaign to divide Western economic, political, and
security institutions, particularly those institutions of which
G7 countries are members.
(c) Group of Seven Defined.--In this Act, the term ``Group of
Seven'' or ``G7'' means the organization of leading economies commonly
known as the ``G7'' that includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy,
Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States as members, with the
European Union as an observer.
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