[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 38 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. CON. RES. 38
Declaring a state of emergency due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine,
in order to establish a waiver of the minimum tonnage requirements of
section 55305 of title 46, United States Code.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 3, 2022
Ms. Ernst (for herself and Mr. Coons) submitted the following
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Declaring a state of emergency due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine,
in order to establish a waiver of the minimum tonnage requirements of
section 55305 of title 46, United States Code.
Whereas, in February 2014, the Russian military invaded and annexed the
Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, and the Russian Federation took action to
establish pro-Russian separatist States in the Donbas region of Ukraine;
Whereas, the Russian Federation has failed to follow the cease-fire agreements
established by the Minsk 1 and Minsk 2 accords, and conflict has been
ongoing in Ukraine since such invasion and annexation;
Whereas, throughout 2021, Russia amassed troops, weapon systems, and military
hardware on the border of Russia and Ukraine;
Whereas, on December 17, 2021, the Russian Federation presented the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (referred to in this preamble as ``NATO'')
with a list of security demands, including that NATO would never allow
Ukraine, or other former Soviet States, into the alliance;
Whereas such demands are counter to NATO's ``open door policy'', which dates to
the alliance's founding and gives no third party a say in such
deliberations;
Whereas, on February 21, 2022, President Vladimir Putin officially recognized
the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent States despite
international consensus that those regions remain part of the sovereign
territory of Ukraine;
Whereas, on February 22, 2022, President Putin ordered Russian troops to enter
Donetsk and Luhansk on a ``peacekeeping mission'' while setting the
stage for a larger invasion;
Whereas, on February 24, 2022, President Putin ordered Russian forces to conduct
a full-scale invasion, moving beyond the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk,
and initiating attacks throughout broader Ukrainian territory;
Whereas Russian forces continue to devastate Ukraine's hospitals, schools,
homes, and other civilian infrastructure, and threaten nuclear power
plants with heavy artillery, multi-launch rocket systems, and munitions
systems, with no regard for civilian casualties;
Whereas, an October 19, 2017, Government Accountability Office Report stated
that a ``2015 analysis of agency data found that the application of
[Cargo Preference for Food Aid (CPFA)] requirements increased United
States Agency for International Development's and United States
Department of Agriculture's costs for shipping food aid by about 23
percent, or $107 million, compared with the estimated shipping costs
without application of CPFA requirements, from April 2011 through fiscal
year 2014.'';
Whereas, in a United States Agency for International Development fact sheet
titled: ``Food Aid Reform: Behind the Numbers'', the United States
Agency for International Development stated that eliminating the
mandatory cargo preference reimbursements will reduce the deficit by an
estimated $50,000,000 per year;
Whereas, in March 2020, the American Enterprise Institute published a report
titled ``The Cost of Cargo Preferences for International Food Aid
Programs'', which--
(1) found ``that removing cargo preference requirements would allow for
between $36 and $64 million of already appropriated funds to go to feeding
the hungry and would benefit U.S. soft power globally''; and
(2) concluded that ``cargo preference for food aid imposes substantial
costs on USAID's Title II program budget. . . . The impacts are
substantial, reducing the funds available for additional food aid programs
by $52.83 million a year.'';
Whereas, in a March 25, 2022, information note titled ``The importance of
Ukraine and the Russian Federation for global agricultural markets and
the risks associated with the current conflict'', the Food and
Agriculture Organization (referred to in this preamble as the ``FAO'')
of the United Nations stated that--
(1) the invasion of Ukraine could raise food prices ``by 8 to 22
percent above their already elevated baseline levels'';
(2) ``current indications are that, as a result of the conflict,
between 20 and 30 percent of areas sown to winter crops in Ukraine will
remain unharvested during the 2022/23 season, with the yields of these
crops also likely to be adversely affected''; and
(3) ``FAO's simulations suggest that under such a scenario, the global
number of undernourished people could increase by 8 to 13 million people in
2022/23, with the most pronounced increases taking place in Asia-Pacific,
followed by sub-Saharan Africa, and the Near East and North Africa.'';
Whereas, on April 8, 2022, the Associated Press published that ``The U.N. Food
and Agriculture Organization said its Food Price Index, which tracks
monthly changes in international prices for a basket of commodities,
averaged 159.3 points last month, up 12.6% from February'', and that
``As it is, the February index was the highest level since its inception
in 1990.'';
Whereas, on April 27, 2022, the United States Agency for International
Development said in a press release that ``The world is suffering from
historic levels of global food insecurity, which is being exacerbated by
the impact Russia's war on Ukraine is having on global food supplies.
Available estimates suggest that an additional 40 million people could
be pushed into poverty and food insecurity as a result of Russia's
aggression.'';
Whereas, on April 27, 2022, the Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development, Samantha Power, said that ``In Ukraine, which
provides 10 percent of the world's wheat, farmers are struggling to
plant and harvest their crops for fear of shelling and Russian
landmines, and their path to exporting these vital commodities is
severely restricted by Russia's invasion, which caused the closure of
Ukraine's ports.''; and
Whereas, on April 27, 2022, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, said that
``Russia's unprovoked war on Ukraine, a fellow major agricultural export
country, is driving food and energy costs higher for people around the
world.'': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring),
That--
(1) a state of emergency exists due to the Russian invasion
of Ukraine;
(2) such state of emergency--
(A) for the purposes of subparagraph (B), shall be
in effect beginning on May 1, 2022, and ending on
February 1, 2025; and
(B) justifies a waiver during such period of time
of the minimum tonnage requirements, in accordance with
section 55305(c) of title 46, United States Code, for
the transport of equipment, materials, or commodities
related to humanitarian operations resulting from the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine; and
(3) the heads of the appropriate agencies shall be notified
of such waiver.
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