[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 196 (Wednesday, November 18, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H5920-H5921]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
UKRAINE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM SUPPORT ACT
Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 5408) to oppose violations of religious freedom in Ukraine
by Russia and armed groups commanded by Russia, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5408
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 ``Ukraine Religious Freedom
Support Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Russia invaded the Crimea region of Ukraine in February
2014, continues to occupy and control that region, and has
exercised control over part of the Donbas region of eastern
Ukraine since April 2014 through non-state armed groups and
illegal entities it has established, instigated, commanded,
and supported, including with military and intelligence
personnel on the ground from Russia.
(2) International humanitarian law, including the Geneva
Conventions, to which Russia is a signatory, requires Russia
to respect and protect the religious freedom of the
inhabitants of the territory it occupies or controls,
including through organized non-state armed groups and
illegal entities it commands and supports, and holds Russia
responsible for violations of religious freedom in this
territory.
(3) According to the Department of State's International
Religious Freedom Reports, and other reporting, violations of
religious freedom in the Crimea region of Ukraine since
Russia invaded and occupied the territory have included
abduction, detention and imprisonment, torture, forced
psychiatric hospitalizations, fines, restrictions on
missionary activities, confiscations of property, including
churches and meeting halls, expulsions and obstructions to
reentry, denying registration of religious groups, vandalism,
fines, and banning peaceful religious groups, and targeted
groups have included Muslim Crimean Tatars, the Orthodox
Church of Ukraine, formerly the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of
the Kyivan Patriarchate, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church,
Protestant Christians, and Jehovah's Witnesses.
(4) According to the Department of State's International
Religious Freedom Reports, violations of religious freedom in
the part of the Donbas region of Ukraine controlled by armed
groups commanded by Russia have included detention and
imprisonment, torture, confiscation of property, including
churches and meeting halls, physical assaults and threats of
violence, vandalism, fines, restrictions on missionary
activities, religious services, ceremonies, gatherings, and
literature, and banning of peaceful religious groups, and
targeted groups have included the Orthodox Church of Ukraine,
formerly the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate, the
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Protestant Christians, and
Jehovah's Witnesses.
(5) The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, as
amended by the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom
Act, requires the President to--
(A) designate a foreign country as a country of particular
concern for religious freedom when its government has engaged
in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious
freedom in that country over the previous 12 months;
(B) take one or more of the actions described in paragraphs
(9) through (15) of section 405(a) of the International
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6445(a)), or
commensurate actions in substitution, not later than 90 days,
or 180 days in case of a delay under paragraph (3), after the
date of the designation of a country as a country of
particular concern for religious freedom; and
(C) designate a foreign country on a ``Special Watch List''
when its government has engaged in or tolerated severe
violations of religious freedom in that country over the
previous 12 months.
(6) On December 18, 2019, the Secretary of State re-
designated Russia for the ``Special Watch List''.
(7) The National Security Strategy of the United States
issued in 2017, 2015, 2006, 2002, 2000, 1999, 1998, and 1997,
committed the United States to promoting international
religious freedom to advance the security, economic, and
other national interests of the United States.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States to consider any alien
who, while serving as an official of the Government of
Russia, was responsible for or directly carried out
particularly severe violations of religious freedom in the
sovereign territory of Ukraine that Russia illegally occupies
or controls, including through non-state armed groups and
illegal entities it commands and supports, to have committed
particularly severe violations of religious freedom for
purposes of applying section 212(a)(2)(G) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(G)) with respect to
any such alien.
SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF RUSSIA AS A COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR
CONCERN FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.
For purposes of making a determination of whether to
designate Russia as a country of particular concern for
religious freedom under section 402 of the International
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442), the President
shall consider any particularly severe violation of religious
freedom in the territory of Ukraine that Russia occupies or
controls, including controls through non-state armed groups
and illegal entities it commands and supports, during the
period of time that is the basis for the determination and
designation, to be a particularly severe violation of
religious freedom that the Government of Russia has engaged
in or tolerated.
SEC. 5. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall
be determined by reference to the latest statement titled
``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act,
submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the
Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such
statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Espaillat) and the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.
General Leave
Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous materials on H.R. 5408.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to my friend from South Carolina (Mr.
Wilson) for bringing forward this bill that shines a light on the
egregious violations of human rights and religious freedom at the hands
of Russian-led forces in Ukraine's sovereign territory.
[[Page H5921]]
We have been saying it for years, but it always bears repeating:
Crimea is Ukraine; the Donbas is Ukraine. Russia must be held
accountable for the brutal violations of human rights and religious
freedoms taking place under their attempted annexation of these areas.
The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 provides a range of
consequences for governments that persecute people on religious
grounds. From public condemnation to trade sanctions, the
administration has tools to push back on this sort of abuse.
This bill calls for Russia to be held accountable under the law for
the violations of religious freedoms we are seeing in Ukraine.
The bill represents a smart approach to address a specific problem
emanating from Russia. We should move it forward along with other
efforts to push back on Putin's aggression.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
House of Representatives,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC, November 11, 2020.
Hon. Jerrold Nadler,
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Nadler: I am writing to you concerning H.R.
5408, Ukraine Religious Freedom Support Act. I appreciate
your willingness to work cooperatively on this legislation.
I acknowledge that provisions of the bill fall within the
jurisdiction of the House Committee on the Judiciary under
House Rule X, and that your Committee will forgo action on
H.R. 5408 to expedite floor consideration. I further
acknowledge that the inaction of your Committee with respect
to the bill does not waive any future jurisdictional claim
over the matters contained in the bill that fall within your
jurisdiction. I will also support the appointment of
Committee on the Judiciary conferees during any House-Senate
conference convened on this legislation.
Lastly, I will ensure that our exchange of letters is
included in the Congressional Record during floor
consideration of the bill. Thank you again for your
cooperation regarding the legislation. I look forward to
continuing to work with you as the measure moves through the
legislative process.
Sincerely,
Eliot L. Engel,
Chairman.
____
House of Representatives,
Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington, DC. November 17, 2020.
Hon. Eliot Engel,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Engel: This is to advise you that the
Committee on the Judiciary has now had an opportunity to
review the provisions in R.R. 5408, the ``Ukraine Religious
Freedom Support Act,'' that fall within our Rule X
jurisdiction. I appreciate your consulting with us on those
provisions. The Judiciary Committee has no objection to your
including them in the bill for consideration on the House
floor, and to expedite that consideration is willing to forgo
action on R.R. 5408, with the understanding that we do not
thereby waive any future jurisdictional claim over those
provisions or their subject matters.
I the event a House-Senate conference on this or similar
legislation is convened, the Judiciary Committee reserves the
right to request an appropriate number of conferees to
address any concerns with these or similar provisions that
may arise in conference.
Please place this letter into the Congressional Record
during consideration of the measure on the House floor. Thank
you for the cooperative spirit in which you have worked
regarding this matter and others between our committees.
Sincerely,
Jerrold Nadler,
Chairman.
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time
as I might consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of a bill which I am grateful to
have introduced with my colleague, Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, the
Ukraine Religious Freedom Support Act.
Russia's war in Ukraine and illegal occupation of Crimea have dragged
on for nearly 7 years. The human toll is staggering. The fighting has
killed as many as 10,000 soldiers as well as 3,000 innocent civilians.
Another casualty of Russian aggression in Ukraine has been the attack
on religious freedom.
Russian occupation authorities in Crimea continue to persecute and
intimidate the minority Christian, Muslim, and other religious groups,
like the Jehovah's Witnesses.
Putin's puppets in Crimea have subjected them to kidnappings,
torture, forced psychiatric examinations, and imprisonment. Recently,
eight Muslim Crimean Tatars were sentenced to between 13 and 19 years
in a Russian prison on the entirely baseless charge of terrorism.
Minority religious groups in the area of eastern Ukraine, controlled
by pro-Putin proxies, have also been forced to flee in order to escape
the oppressive conditions.
The religious persecution in Ukraine being committed at the hands of
Putin authorities is self-destructive and must be stopped.
Throughout our history, the United States has worked tirelessly to
advance religious freedom and protect religious minorities around the
globe. This bill follows that strong tradition by accomplishing two
things.
First, it brings international attention to the grave violations of
religious freedom in the territory of Ukraine--where, again, people
need to know, 13,000 people have been killed--that Putin illegally
occupies or controls through illegal armed groups.
Second, it helps ensure that Vladimir Putin and his cronies are held
accountable.
We cannot allow these grave violations to continue.
In closing, it is vital that the United States continues to be a
leader in advancing international religious freedom around the world.
This bill not only brings international attention to the religious
persecution being committed in the territory of Ukraine that Putin
illegally occupies or controls through illegal armed groups it
commands, but also ensures Vladimir Putin and his thugs are held
accountable.
Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Helsinki Commission, along with
Congressman and Chairman Alcee Hastings, I would also like to recognize
the Helsinki Commission for long championing this issue. In particular,
I would like to recognize Nathaniel Hurd of the Helsinki Commission
staff for all of his work to ensure that we hold Putin to account for
these egregious violations of religious liberty in Ukraine.
Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this legislation, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, Russia and Putin are responsible for
illegal and destabilizing actions all around the world. We need a
comprehensive strategy to put a stop to their aggression and impose
tough consequences. It is going to take a lot of different tools, and
this bill will give us one of them.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' 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. Espaillat) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5408, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________