[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.
____________________