[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 806 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 806

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that any attempt 
by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to remain in 
office beyond May 7, 2024, shall warrant nonrecognition on the part of 
                           the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 18, 2021

Mr. Cohen (for himself and Mr. Wilson of South Carolina) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that any attempt 
by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to remain in 
office beyond May 7, 2024, shall warrant nonrecognition on the part of 
                           the United States.

Whereas the Russian Federation, as a member of the United Nations, the 
        Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the Council of 
        Europe, is bound by international commitments with regard to human 
        rights and the rule of law;
Whereas Article 81(3) of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, as enacted 
        on December 25, 1993, holds that ``one and the same person cannot occupy 
        the office of President of the Russian Federation for more than two 
        consecutive terms'';
Whereas Vladimir Putin has been President of the Russian Federation for two 
        consecutive terms, the first term lasting from May 7, 2000, to May 7, 
        2008, and the second, current, and final term beginning May 7, 2012, and 
        expiring on May 7, 2024;
Whereas, on July 3, 2020, following votes in both chambers of the Federal 
        Assembly and in regional legislatures and a nationwide popular vote, 
        President Vladimir Putin signed Presidential Decree No. 445 enacting 206 
        amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, including an 
        amendment waiving the term limit for him personally, allowing him to 
        seek 2 more 6-year Presidential terms after May 7, 2024;
Whereas the enactment of constitutional amendments had been conditioned on 
        approval of such amendments in a nationwide vote, referred to by 
        President Vladimir Putin as a ``plebiscite'', that was held between June 
        25 and July 1, 2020, under the unprecedented conditions of the COVID-19 
        pandemic;
Whereas the 2020 Russian constitutional plebiscite was marked by widespread 
        reports of organized voter coercion, multiple voting, ballot-stuffing, 
        and violation of the secrecy of the ballot, and by one-sided media 
        coverage in favor of the amendments, while opponents of the amendments 
        were not given airtime in the media and had their campaign rallies 
        prohibited and their websites blocked;
Whereas voting was held over 7 days and was conducted not only in regular 
        polling places but also in makeshift locations, including park benches, 
        car trunks, and shopping carts, with ballots stored overnight by the 
        electoral commissions with no independent oversight;
Whereas in violation of the laws of the Russian Federation and the commitments 
        of the Russian Federation under the Organization for Security and Co-
        operation in Europe and the Council of Europe, Russian authorities did 
        not invite international observers to monitor the vote and limited 
        domestic observers to those appointed by state-controlled Public 
        Chambers;
Whereas according to opinion polls conducted in the runup to the plebiscite by 
        the Levada Center, 48 percent of Russian voters supported waiving 
        Vladimir Putin's term limit while 47 percent were in opposition;
Whereas according to official figures released by the Central Electoral 
        Commission of the Russian Federation, amendments to the Constitution of 
        the Russian Federation were supported by 78 percent of those who 
        participated in the plebiscite;
Whereas the Central Electoral Commission of the Russian Federation began 
        announcing the results of the plebiscite before voting had concluded;
Whereas according to the Russian nongovernmental organization Golos and 
        independent electoral analysts, approximately 27,000,000 votes, 
        accounting for 37 percent of the official total, were fraudulent, making 
        the plebiscite the most manipulated vote in the modern history of the 
        Russian Federation;
Whereas in a statement following the plebiscite, the leaders of the United 
        States delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for 
        Security and Co-operation in Europe, Senator Roger Wicker and the late 
        Representative Alcee Hastings, said that ``the outcome of this vote was 
        decided long before the ballots were tallied'' and that ``State-
        sponsored fraud, coercion, and obfuscation make it impossible to know 
        the true will of the Russian people'';
Whereas Senator James Risch, then-Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations 
        of the Senate, has stated that the ``sham vote, masquerading as a 
        referendum, has swept away all remnants of Putin's legitimacy'';
Whereas the Department of State has held that ``[a]round the world, as a matter 
        of principle, the United States opposes constitutional amendments that 
        favor incumbents or extend their terms in office, particularly in 
        contexts where necessary conditions for free and fair democratic 
        processes are lacking'';
Whereas the United States and the Russian Federation are participating states of 
        the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe; and
Whereas the Document of the Moscow Meeting of the Conference on the Human 
        Dimension of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe holds 
        that ``issues relating to human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy 
        and the rule of law . . . are matters of direct and legitimate concern 
        to all participating States and do not belong exclusively to the 
        internal affairs of the State concerned'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) the 2020 amendments to the Constitution of the Russian 
        Federation were enacted in violation of the laws and 
        international commitments of the Russian Federation;
            (2) the waiver of the Presidential term limit resulting 
        from those amendments is illegitimate; and
            (3) any attempt by President of the Russian Federation 
        Vladimir Putin to remain in office beyond the end of his 
        current and final term on May 7, 2024, shall warrant 
        nonrecognition on the part of the United States.
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