[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8433 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8433
To require the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense to
jointly submit a report on efforts by the Government of the Russian
Federation to persecute, suppress, discriminate, or otherwise violate
the religious freedoms of Ukraine and temporarily occupied territories
of Ukraine, to require the President to impose all applicable sanctions
with respect to foreign persons certified to have engaged in such
efforts, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 22, 2026
Mr. Wilson of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Fitzpatrick,
Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Bacon, and Mr. Quigley) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition
to the Committees on Financial Services, and Ways and Means, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense to
jointly submit a report on efforts by the Government of the Russian
Federation to persecute, suppress, discriminate, or otherwise violate
the religious freedoms of Ukraine and temporarily occupied territories
of Ukraine, to require the President to impose all applicable sanctions
with respect to foreign persons certified to have engaged in such
efforts, 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 ``Countering Russia's War on Faith
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) In territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by the
Russian Federation, Russian occupation authorities have imposed
policies that restrict, suppress, and eliminate freedom of
religion and belief, in violation of international law and
civilian protections under the law of armed conflict.
(2) The United States Commission on International Religious
Freedom has documented that Russian authorities in occupied
Ukrainian territories have engaged in severe violations of
religious freedom, including the detention, torture,
disappearance, and unlawful imprisonment of clergy and
believers, as well as the closure and confiscation of houses of
worship.
(3) According to Ukrainian authorities and independent
monitoring groups, Russian forces have damaged or destroyed
more than 600 churches, synagogues, mosques, and other
religious sites since the start of Russia's full-scale
invasion.
(4) Russia has killed more than 50 Ukrainian priests,
pastors, and other religious leaders during Russia's invasion,
and many others have been abducted, detained, tortured, or
forcibly disappeared in occupied territories.
(5) Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, members of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Crimean Tatar, and Orthodox
Christian communities not aligned with the Russian Orthodox
Church have been subjected to raids, forced re-registration
under Russian law, intimidation, and criminal prosecution, with
many congregations driven underground or permanently shuttered.
(6) Religious buildings in occupied areas have been seized
and repurposed for military or administrative use, religious
literature has been confiscated, and charitable ministries
dismantled, eroding both the spiritual and humanitarian
foundations of local communities.
(7) The Russian Orthodox Church, led by Patriarch Kirill of
Moscow, has publicly framed the invasion in theological terms,
describing the war as a ``holy war'' having ``metaphysical
significance'' and stating in a September 2022 sermon that if a
soldier dies in the performance of military duty, ``this
sacrifice washes away all the sins that a person has
committed''. According to the Committee on International
Religious Freedom, ``Russian de facto authorities often commit
religious freedom violations to facilitate the dominance of the
Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in these
territories''.
(8) Russia's actions demonstrate a systematic campaign of
religious persecution in occupied Ukrainian territory,
violating the fundamental right to freedom of thought,
conscience, religion, and belief as protected under the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
SEC. 3. REPORT ON RUSSIA'S PERSECUTION OF RELIGIOUS GROUPS IN OCCUPIED
TERRITORIES OF UKRAINE.
(a) Report.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 3 years, the
Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the
Director of National Intelligence, shall jointly submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report that includes--
(1) a detailed description of the Government of the Russian
Federation and its state-affiliated, quasi-state, or
occupation-era activities that persecute, suppress,
discriminate, or otherwise directly or indirectly engage in or
facilitate serious human rights abuse against Christians, Jews,
and Muslims (including Crimean Tatars), and other religious
minorities not affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church, and
their respective religious organizations in Russian-occupied
territories of Ukraine;
(2) an identification of churches, synagogues, mosques,
other religious facilities, including Christian, Jewish,
Muslim, and other minority religious institutions, that have
been destroyed, damaged, seized, repurposed, or otherwise
appropriated directly or indirectly by persons operating for or
on behalf of the Government of the Russian Federation in
occupied territories of Ukraine;
(3) an assessment of--
(A) the number of Christians, Jews, Muslims
(including Crimean Tatars), and other religious
minorities not affiliated with the Russian Orthodox
Church, who have been subjected to persecution,
imprisonment, or forced displacement in occupied
territories of Ukraine;
(B) restrictions imposed on Christian, Jewish,
Muslim, and other religions not affiliated with the
Russian Orthodox Church's religious practices, worship
services, or religious education in occupied
territories;
(C) efforts to compel Christian organizations to
affiliate with Moscow-based religious institutions or
to suppress Christian activity not affiliated with
Moscow-based religions;
(D) efforts by the Government of the Russian
Federation, by authorities exercising de facto
governmental control in occupied territory, or by
entities or persons otherwise affiliated with Russia,
to compel Christian organizations in Ukraine and in
occupied territories--
(i) to affiliate with Moscow-based
religious institutions; or
(ii) to suppress Christian, Jewish, Muslim,
or any other denominations not aligned with
Russian state interests; and
(E) the overall impact of Russia's invasion of
Ukraine, and its occupation of Ukrainian territory, on
religious freedom in occupied territories of Ukraine,
including Crimea and Sevastopol; and
(4) a list of individuals and entities affiliated with the
Government of the Russian Federation, or exercising de facto
authority in occupied territory, that--
(A) are responsible for persecution, suppression,
or discrimination against Christians, Jews, or Muslims
in Ukraine and in the occupied territories of Ukraine;
or
(B) have otherwise engaged in or attempted to
engage in any of the conduct described in this
subsection.
(b) Certification Required.--Not later than 30 days after the
submission of each report required by subsection (a), the President
shall certify to the appropriate congressional committees whether there
may be reasonable grounds to determine that any individuals and
entities included in the list described in subsection (a)(4) have
engaged in any of the conduct described in subsection (a)(2) or
subsection (a)(3).
(c) Effect of Positive Certification.--If the President makes an
affirmative certification under subsection (b) with respect to a
foreign person, the President shall impose applicable sanctions with
respect to each such person pursuant to the authorities and procedures
set forth in the applicable regulations under--
(1) part 583 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations
(relating to sanctions authorized under the Global Magnitsky
Human Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.));
(2) part 589 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations
(relating to Ukraine-/Russia-related sanctions);
(3) part 587 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations
(relating to Russian Harmful Foreign Activities sanctions); or
(4) any other regulation under chapter V of title 31, Code
of Federal Regulations, providing for the imposition of
sanctions (including the blocking of property or interests in
property) with respect to the conduct for which such person
received an affirmative certification.
(d) Effect of Subsequent Negative Determination.--To the extent
that the President determines, based on a subsequent report required by
subsection (a), that an individual or entity previously listed in such
a report no longer engages in any of the conduct described in
subsection (b) or otherwise no longer meets the requirements with
respect to the applicable sanctions imposed with respect to such person
under subsection (c), the President may waive or terminate such
sanctions with respect to such person.
(e) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be submitted
in an unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
(f) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, and the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence of the House of Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Foreign Relations, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of
the Senate.
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