[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 12, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H2660-H2662]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 CRIMEA ANNEXATION NON-RECOGNITION ACT

  Mr. ENGEL. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 596) to prohibit United States Government recognition of 
Russia's annexation of Crimea, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 596

       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 ``Crimea Annexation Non-
     recognition Act''.

     SEC. 2. PROHIBITION AGAINST UNITED STATES RECOGNITION OF THE 
                   RUSSIAN FEDERATION'S CLAIM OF SOVEREIGNTY OVER 
                   CRIMEA.

       (a) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United 
     States not to recognize the Russian Federation's claim of 
     sovereignty over Crimea, its airspace, or its territorial 
     waters.
       (b) Prohibition.--In accordance with subsection (a), no 
     Federal department or agency may take any action or extend 
     any assistance that implies recognition of the Russian 
     Federation's claim of sovereignty over Crimea, its airspace, 
     or its territorial waters.
       (c) Waiver.--The President may waive the prohibition in 
     subsection (b) on a case-by-case basis if the President 
     determines that it is vital to the national security 
     interests of the United States to do so.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Engel) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kinzinger) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ENGEL. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H.R. 596, the Crimea Annexation Non-
recognition Act, as amended, currently under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ENGEL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I thank this bill's author, who is a valuable member 
of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Mr. Connolly from Virginia.
  Madam Speaker, I also thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul), 
our ranking member, for working with us on this bipartisan legislation.
  Madam Speaker, Vladimir Putin has left no doubt about his intentions 
to expand Russian influence, undermine democracy, and splinter the 
alliances and agreements that have long kept Russia in check.
  We have seen these through Russia's direct attacks on our democratic 
institutions, including our own--remember the Presidential election of 
2016--through a pernicious and widespread misinformation campaign 
designed to distort reality and foment confusion and, in no clearer 
way, through its illegal occupation of parts of Ukraine and parts of 
Georgia.
  It is shocking in the 21st century to see a country trample on a 
neighbor's sovereignty and seize territory by force. It goes against 
everything we have worked for since World War II to build a Europe that 
is whole, free, and in peace.
  It has been 5 years since Russian forces moved into Crimea and staged 
a sham election in an attempt to give their occupation a gloss of 
legitimacy, but there is nothing legitimate about it--absolutely 
nothing.
  The United States must never accept Putin's attempts to seize 
territory by force, and this legislation would enshrine into our laws a 
nonrecognition of Russia's annexation of Crimea. This bill would 
prevent our government from taking any action that even implies 
American recognition of this blatantly illegal land grab.
  This bill also sends a strong message to our Ukrainian friends that 
we stand shoulder to shoulder with them as they continue to resist 
Russian efforts to fracture their country. This is especially important 
in light of recent events in which the Russian Navy intercepted 
Ukrainian patrol boats in Ukrainian waters, capturing the vessels and 
their crew by force.
  Vladimir Putin is a bully and a thug. His troops may hold Crimea in a 
stranglehold, but we need to be clear that Crimea will always be part 
of Ukraine, not part of Russia. This measure will put that rejection 
permanently into our laws. I am pleased to support it.
  Madam Speaker, I ask all Members to do likewise, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. KINZINGER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today with the majority, also in strong support 
of H.R. 596, the Crimea Annexation Non-recognition Act. I am proud to 
cosponsor this legislation, which clearly states that America will not 
recognize Russian sovereignty over Crimea.
  Ukraine continues to face significant challenges from Russia, from 
their meddling, and from their aggression. In Congress, we know the 
true intentions of Vladimir Putin when it comes to Ukraine. Vladimir 
Putin and his cronies in the Kremlin are tearing Europe apart.
  Russian-backed separatists continue their shelling of Ukrainian 
military positions in Eastern Ukraine, which has killed civilians in 
many areas.
  Additionally, Russia recently violated Ukraine sovereignty and 
territorial integrity when it fired upon and captured three Ukrainian 
vessels and 24 sailors. Russia continues to hold these sailors on bogus 
charges that they violated Russian borders, even though the Kerch 
Strait is determined to be neutral waters.

                              {time}  1245

  While Russia maintains that Ukrainian soldiers were threatening the 
construction of the Crimean bridge, which is currently under 
construction between the territory of Russia and Crimea, we know this 
is fake news from Putin and his thugs.
  We need to continue to send a strong message to the Russians that the 
United States does not and will not

[[Page H2661]]

recognize their claim of sovereignty over Crimea, not now and not ever.
  I commend Secretary Pompeo for making the Crimea Declaration last 
July that articulated this policy of the United States, and I believe 
Congress should have a voice in this as well.
  Madam Speaker, the bill is simple. It states that the policy of the 
United States Government is to never recognize sovereignty over Crimea, 
and it prohibits all U.S. Government agencies from taking any action 
with respect to acknowledging that Russia has any claims over the 
territory.
  As Vladimir Putin seeks to impose his iron-fisted will over former 
Soviet republics, we must continue to stand with our allies to counter 
that aggression.
  I commend the work of my friend from Virginia (Mr. Connolly) and my 
friend from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) for their leadership on this issue. By 
reaffirming congressional support for Ukraine's territorial integrity 
and by holding Russia accountable for its continued violation of 
Ukraine sovereignty, I believe we will continue to stand with Ukraine 
legislatively and most effectively from here and into the future.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ENGEL. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Connolly), the author of this bill and a very valued 
member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Madam Speaker, I thank my dear friend from New York 
(Mr. Engel), the distinguished chairman of our committee, for his 
support. I thank my dear friend from Illinois (Mr. Kinzinger), the 
Republican manager today, for his support. And I salute my friend from 
Ohio (Mr. Chabot) who has steadfastly cosponsored this resolution in 
previous Congresses to make a powerful bipartisan statement.
  I rise today, Madam Speaker, in support of H.R. 596, the Crimea 
Annexation Non-recognition Act, which we introduced together, as I 
said, with Mr. Chabot of Ohio.
  This bill states unequivocally that it is the policy of the United 
States not to recognize the Russian Federation's claim of sovereignty 
over Crimea, its airspace, or its territorial waters. Furthermore, the 
bill prohibits the United States Government from taking any action that 
could possibly apply recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea.
  Putin's forcible and illegal annexation of Crimea, the first forcible 
seizure of territory in Europe since World War II, undermines Ukrainian 
sovereignty and threatens the stability of Europe. Acquiescence on the 
part of the United States would threaten the security of all sovereign 
nations. Who is next? Moldova, Georgia, the Baltic States?
  It is the longstanding policy of our country not to recognize 
territorial changes elected by force, as dictated by the Stimson 
Doctrine established in 1932 by then-Secretary of State Henry Stimson, 
a Republican under a Republican President, Herbert Hoover.
  We upheld that doctrine with the issuance of the Welles Declaration 
in 1940, which stated emphatically that the United States would not 
recognize the illegal annexation at that time of the Baltic States by 
the Soviet Union.
  That policy remained in effect for 50 long years. Some thought it 
quixotic. For more than those 50 years, we stood by those Baltic 
republics of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia, sometimes in the face of 
ridicule. Today, they are independent nations and members of the NATO 
alliance.
  The collective wisdom of the previous and current administrations, 
Congress, our European allies, and the American public is that similar 
principles must be adopted with respect to Crimea.
  Crimea was Putin's original violation in Ukraine, and we have limited 
credibility objecting to Russia's subsequent invasion of the Luhansk 
and Donetsk areas of that country. If we do not take a stand with 
respect to Crimea, then we are just quibbling over the price.
  What has happened in Ukraine--Russia's forcible and illegal 
annexation of Crimea, invasion of the eastern part of the country, and 
continued occupation--has precipitated an international crisis, and the 
resulting conflict has claimed more than 10,000 lives.
  Russia has subjected Crimeans who refuse Russian citizenship to 
discrimination in accessing education, healthcare, and employment, and 
Russian authorities have attacked travel rights and the free press. The 
matter of rejecting the forcible and illegal attack on sovereign 
territory is so important that we should be satisfied with nothing less 
than absolute clarity about our position, which is that we support 
Ukraine's sovereignty over Crimea.
  The Obama administration established a nonrecognition policy toward 
Russian sovereignty over Crimea and levied sanctions against 
individuals and entities enabling Russia's illegal occupation. Our 
allies in Europe have stood with us, shoulder to shoulder, in 
emphasizing and enforcing those sanctions.
  Congress codified the Obama Crimea sanctions and has repeatedly used 
the power of the purse to prohibit the use of government funds for any 
action that could possibly recognize de jure or de facto illegal 
annexation of Crimea.
  The fiscal year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act included 
similar language to that contained in our bill today, in order to 
prohibit the use of defense funds in a manner that could be construed 
as recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea. That language has 
remained in the NDAA ever since.
  In the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, 
Congress reiterated its support for the Stimson Doctrine and its 
application to the illegal invasions by Russia and occupations of 
Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia, Crimea and Eastern Ukraine, and 
the Transnistria region in Moldova.

  The United States must lead the way in refusing to recognize or 
legitimize Russia's illegal acts and its forcible annexation of Crimea. 
That is why I am so proud to offer this bill, along with Mr. Chabot, 
that expresses the will of Congress as loud and as clear as we can, and 
I urge my colleagues unanimously to support it.
  Mr. KINZINGER. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Chabot), a senior member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
and the primary cosponsor of this bill.
  Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 596, the Crimea 
Annexation Non-recognition Act, and I thank my good friend from 
Virginia, Representative Gerry Connolly, for his work and his 
leadership on this legislation and many other pieces of legislation 
that we have worked on in a bipartisan manner in this House.
  They say there is no bipartisanship here, whether it is under 
Democratic or Republican control, and we found a way to make that 
happen on the Foreign Affairs Committee over the years.
  As a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the 
principal Republican cosponsor of this legislation, let me state 
clearly and emphatically that the United States--and the world, for 
that matter--must never recognize Vladimir Putin's reckless Crimean 
land grab, which is all too reminiscent of Soviet Cold War tactics.
  This bill not only definitively sets out U.S. policy that we will not 
recognize Putin's bogus claims of sovereignty over Crimea, but it will 
also prohibit our government from taking any actions that might imply 
our recognition of Russian claims.
  Representative Connolly and I first introduced this legislation back 
in 2014, shortly after Putin seized Crimea. Despite the intervening 
years, we must never grow accustomed to Russian control over the 
peninsula. That is one reason that makes this legislation even more 
vitally necessary, because over time, the world sometimes does grow 
accustomed to things. We must never let that happen with Putin's grab 
of Crimea.
  Last May, Putin opened a bridge over the Kerch Strait, which 
separates Russia from Crimea, in an attempt to better link it, to grab 
it and keep it. The bridge is too low for many large vessels, which has 
reduced economic activity at Ukrainian ports on the Sea of Azov, thus 
further harming Ukraine. Even more concerning, in November, Putin's 
thugs illegally seized three Ukrainian naval vessels and their crews at 
the entrance to the Kerch Strait.
  Plain and simple, Putin's illegal annexation of Crimea, as well as 
his adventures around the Kerch Strait and in Eastern Ukraine, have no 
place in a modern, democratic Europe. We must

[[Page H2662]]

not abandon Ukraine to Putin's bullying.
  That is why I am pleased to cosponsor this legislation along with my 
friend, Mr. Connolly, which is but a step toward a once-again free 
Crimea.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill so that we 
will never recognize Russian domination over the Crimean peninsula.
  Mr. KINZINGER. Madam Speaker, I have no more speakers. I am prepared 
to close. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a February 27, 2019, statement 
by Secretary Pompeo on Crimea and Ukraine.

                        U.S. Department of State

                       Office of the Spokesperson

               [For Immediate Release--February 27, 2019]

                     Statement by Secretary Pompeo


                           Crimea is Ukraine

       Five years ago, Russia's occupation of Ukraine's Crimean 
     peninsula fueled an escalation of Russian aggression. Russia 
     attempted to upend the international order, undermined basic 
     human freedoms, and weakened our common security. The world 
     has not forgotten the cynical lies Russia employed to justify 
     its aggression and mask its attempted annexation of Ukrainian 
     territory. Russia's use of force against a peaceful neighbor 
     must not be tolerated by reputable states. The United States 
     reiterates its unwavering position: Crimea is Ukraine and 
     must be returned to Ukraine's control.
       The United States remains gravely concerned by the 
     worsening repression by Russia's occupation regime in Crimea. 
     During the past five years, Russian occupation authorities 
     have engaged in an array of abuses in a campaign to eliminate 
     all opposition to its control over Crimea. As part of this 
     campaign, Russia has arbitrarily detained and wrongfully 
     convicted individuals for peaceful opposition to the 
     occupation, and in some cases has forcibly transferred these 
     individuals from occupied Crimea to Russia. The United States 
     calls on Russia to release all of the Ukrainians, including 
     members of the Crimean Tatar community, it has imprisoned in 
     retaliation for their peaceful dissent. This includes Oleh 
     Sentsov, Oleksandr Kolchenko, Volodymyr Balukh, Ruslan 
     Zeytullayev, and approximately 70 others. We call on Russia 
     to cease all its abuses immediately, to end its occupation of 
     Crimea, and, in the meantime, to comply with its obligations 
     under international law, including the law of occupation.
       In the Crimea Declaration of July 25, 2018, the United 
     States reaffirmed its refusal to recognize the Kremlin's 
     claims of sovereignty over Crimea. The United States also 
     condemns Russia's illegal actions in Crimea and its continued 
     aggression against Ukraine. The United States will maintain 
     respective sanctions against Russia until the Russian 
     government returns control of Crimea to Ukraine and fully 
     implements the Minsk agreements. The United States reiterates 
     its unbending support for Ukraine's sovereignty and 
     territorial integrity, within its internationally recognized 
     borders, including its territorial waters.

  Mr. KINZINGER. Madam Speaker, the Secretary writes: ``In the Crimea 
Declaration of July 25, 2018, the United States reaffirmed its refusal 
to recognize the Kremlin's claims of sovereignty over Crimea. The 
United States also condemns Russia's illegal actions in Crimea and its 
continued aggression against Ukraine. The United States will maintain 
respective sanctions against Russia until the Russian Government 
returns control of Crimea to Ukraine and fully implements the Minsk 
agreements. The United States reiterates its unbending support for 
Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, within its 
internationally recognized borders, including its territorial waters.''
  Madam Speaker, in our history, we have always seen the impact that 
our Nation has on others. When we stand up, we help them achieve a 
better tomorrow. We must continue to help Ukraine achieve that better 
future for its citizens, particularly one that is free from Russian 
aggression.
  Recently, we sent the USS Donald Cook to transit through the Kerch 
Strait as a show of solidarity with Ukraine. Actions like these, and 
support for this bill, will further send the message to Vladimir Putin 
that the U.S. will never waver in our support for those who seek to 
push back against Russian oppression and coerced influence.
  This is a great bill that shows the unity between Republicans and 
Democrats in this House, the legislative body, and the administration. 
I urge all Members to support this legislation, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. ENGEL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, in closing, let me say that we need to take a strong 
stand against Vladimir Putin and his aggressive behavior in Eastern 
Europe. This legislation would reaffirm in American law that Russia's 
annexation of Crimea is illegal and that the United States will never 
recognize its legitimacy.
  I hope the other body will act on this measure soon after we pass it, 
and I hope the administration will signal its willingness to sign this 
legislation. There are too many questions swirling around when it comes 
to Russia, too many times that we don't seem to be calling Vladimir 
Putin out for what he has done. I think that it is something that we 
really need to look at very carefully, and I would hope the White House 
would do that.
  Signing this bill will not put these concerns to rest, but it would 
help show that the United States won't just roll over and accept 
Russia's land grabs and egregious violations of international law.
  I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly) for his work on 
this bill, and I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) for his 
work on the bill. I am happy to support it, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 596, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________