[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 204 (Thursday, December 3, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H6083-H6084]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXPRESSING SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT YEVGENIY PRIGOZHIN AND HIS AFFILIATED
ENTITIES POSE A THREAT TO INTERESTS AND SECURITY OF THE UNITED STATES
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the
resolution (H. Res. 996) expressing the sense of Congress that the
activities of Russian national Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his affiliated
entities pose a threat to the national interests and security of the
United States and of its allies and partners, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 996
Whereas Yevgeniy Prigozhin is a Russian national who has
maintained close personal ties with President Vladimir Putin
since the early 2000s;
Whereas Yevgeniy Prigozhin is the patron and funder of the
Wagner Group, also known as the Private Military Company
(PMC) Wagner, a Russian mercenary organization staffed by
current and former military and intelligence officers, and
the Internet Research Agency (IRA), an organization engaged
in online influence operations;
Whereas the IRA has conducted online information operations
against the United States in an attempt to sow division and
discord among the American electorate, as well as the
electorates of our European allies and partners;
Whereas entities funded by Yevgeniy Prigozhin have been
used by the Government of the Russian Federation to conduct
military action, subversive operations, and disinformation
campaigns on its behalf while giving it an appearance of
plausible deniability;
Whereas the Wagner Group was involved in the Russian
Federation's military invasion and attempted annexation of
Ukraine's Crimea region in February and March 2014, and in
the subsequent insurgencies in the eastern Ukrainian regions
of Donetsk and Luhansk;
Whereas the Wagner Group has been providing military
support to the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria since 2015,
fighting alongside its forces and helping it recapture
significant parts of the country;
Whereas, on February 7, 2018, the Wagner Group led an armed
assault on United States troops near the city of Deir al-Zour
in eastern Syria, prompting a United States counterattack, in
what has been described as ``the deadliest U.S.-Russia clash
since the Cold War'';
Whereas the Wagner Group has supported Khalifa Haftar and
his``Libyan National Army'' by providing mercenaries,
artillery, tanks, drones, and ammunition, with Yevgeniy
Prigozhin personally attending a meeting between Haftar and
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Moscow on November
7, 2018;
Whereas a United Nations report made public on May 6, 2020,
concluded that the Wagner Group has operated up to 1,200
military contractors in Libya, including snipers and
specialized military teams, serving as ``an effective force
multiplier'' for Haftar's army.
Whereas mercenaries from the Wagner Group were deployed to
Venezuela in January 2019 to provide support for the regime
of Nicolas Maduro in the face of popular protests against his
dictatorship;
Whereas Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his affiliated entities have
spearheaded operations with the intent to influence political
processes in Africa on behalf of the Government of the
Russian Federation in several countries, including
Madagascar, South Africa, Sudan, Zimbabwe, and the Central
African Republic;
Whereas the Wagner Group has deployed mercenaries to the
Central African Republic since 2018 and has provided security
detail for Central African Republic President Faustin-
Archange Touadera, including Russian national Valery
Zakharov, a former security official with close ties to the
Wagner Group, who serves as the National Security Adviser;
Whereas, on July 31, 2018, Russian journalists Orkhan
Dzhemal, Kirill Radchenko, and Alexander Rastorguyev were
murdered in the Central African Republic while working on a
documentary about the activities of the Wagner Group in that
country;
Whereas according to an investigation by the London-based
Dossier Center, the journalists had been tracked by officers
of the Central African Republic gendarmerie who were in close
communication with Russian nationals tied to the Wagner
Group, including Valery Zakharov and Alexander Sotov;
Whereas associates of Yevgeniy Prigozhin were reported to
discuss plans to set up camps ``for combat prep and training
in sabotage'' with the goal of stoking racial violence and
carrying out domestic terror attacks in the United States in
the run-up to the November 3, 2020, presidential election;
Whereas associates of Yevgeniy Prigozhin have set up online
influence operations based in Ghana and Nigeria to target
social media audiences in the United States with the goal of
inflaming racial tensions and provoking social unrest in the
run-up to the November 3, 2020, presidential election;
Whereas, on December 20, 2016, the Department of the
Treasury designated Yevgeniy Prigozhin under Executive Order
13661, ``Blocking Property of Additional Persons Contributing
to the Situation in Ukraine'', for having ``materially
assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or
technological support for, or goods or services in support
of, senior officials of the Russian Federation'';
Whereas, on June 20, 2017, the Department of the Treasury
designated the Wagner Group under Executive Order 13660,
``Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the
Situation in Ukraine'', for being ``responsible for or
complicit in, or having engaged in, directly or indirectly,
actions or policies that threaten the peace, security,
stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of
Ukraine'';
Whereas, on March 15, 2018, the Department of the Treasury
designated Yevgeniy Prigozhin, his affiliated entities,
including the Internet Research Agency, and his subordinates
under Executive Order 13694, ``Blocking the Property of
Certain Persons Engaging in Significant Malicious Cyber-
Enabled Activities,'' for being ``involved in interfering
with [U.S.] election processes or institutions'';
Whereas on July 15, 2020, under Executive Orders 13848,
13694 (as amended), and 13661, the Department of the Treasury
designated entities located in Sudan, Hong Kong, and Thailand
that have enabled Yevgeniy Prigozhin's ability to evade
United States sanctions as well as Prigozhin-linked entities
that have attempted to suppress and discredit protestors
seeking reforms in Sudan;
Whereas, on September 23, 2020, pursuant to Executive
Orders 13848, 13694 (as amended), and 13661, the Department
of the Treasury designated a network of entities and
individuals working on behalf of Yevgeniy Prigozhin seeking
to advance Russia's influence in the Central African
Republic;
Whereas, on October 15, 2020, the European Union sanctioned
Yevgeniy Prigozhin for engaging in ``and providing support
for Wagner Group's activities in Libya, which threaten the
country's peace, stability and security''; and
Whereas current and former Administration officials have
affirmed that the malign activities of Yevgeniy Prigozhin
around the world pose a significant threat to United States
national security interests: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) condemns any and all attempts by the Government of the
Russian Federation and associated actors to influence the
domestic politics of other countries and sow division among
their peoples, particularly the United States and its allies
and partners;
[[Page H6084]]
(2) condemns the activities of Russian national Yevgeniy
Prigozhin and his affiliated entities that pose a threat to
the democratic values, democratic institutions, and security
of the United States and its allies and partners;
(3) urges countries and entities engaging with Yevgeniy
Prigozhin and his affiliated entities in business or advisory
capacities to cease these engagements;
(4) supports the additional designations made by the
Department of the Treasury on September 23, 2020, and by the
European Union on October 15, 2020, and calls on the United
States Government and the European Union to continue to
target the ability of Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his affiliated
entities to conduct operations globally and to interfere in
the democratic processes of the United States and its allies
and partners; and
(5) calls for close coordination between the United States
Government and the governments of United States allies and
partners to ensure that sanctions regimes against Yevgeniy
Prigozhin and his affiliated entities are enforced and
coordinated.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Engel) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul) each will
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.
{time} 1615
General Leave
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on H. Res. 996.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle
for joining me to introduce this measure condemning one of the
principal architects of Russian aggression around the world. Yevgeniy
Prigozhin is one of Vladimir Putin's key cronies, with a long history
of working against American interests on behalf of the Russian
Government. His Internet Research Agency disinformation campaigns have
worked to sow division and undermine democratic elections right here at
home and also among our allies.
Yevgeniy Prigozhin is also the leader of the Wagner Group, a Russian
mercenary organization, that has spread deadly conflict across the
globe, engaging in violent and subversive operations in Ukraine, Syria,
Libya, and sub-Saharan Africa. He has directed human rights violations
in Syria, undermined U.S. operations in the Middle East, and played a
key role in invading and destabilizing Ukraine.
We must hold Prigozhin accountable and take action to stop his
nefarious activities. This resolution condemns Prigozhin and his
Kremlin partners, expresses strong support for the U.S. and European
Union sanctions on him, which were announced this fall, and calls for
the imposition of additional targeted sanctions.
As Putin and his henchmen, like Prigozhin, continue their attacks on
democracies across the world, Congress must send a strong, unified
message that we will not tolerate their destabilizing actions and that
we are ready to hold them accountable. Passing this resolution does
just that.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this measure, urge all my colleagues
to do the same, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, Yevgeniy Prigozhin is one of the most destructive
operators within Vladimir Putin's corrupt regime. The destabilizing
activity that he has directed and financed can be felt throughout the
world.
Mr. Prigozhin bankrolls the Russian Wagner Group, whose mercenaries
have fanned the deadly flames of conflicts, propped up dictatorships,
committed gruesome human rights abuses, all at the Kremlin's direction.
In Ukraine, the Wagner Group supported Russia's illegal annexation of
Crimea and the pro-Russian separatists in the country's east. They have
provided military support to the murderous Bashar al-Assad regime, and
they even led an assault against U.S. troops in Syria in 2018.
In Libya, Russia has jeopardized efforts to bring peace to the
country by supporting Haftar, as well as by sending advanced Russian
aircraft and thousands of mercenaries from the Wagner Group into the
country.
The Wagner Group is also actively meddling in the domestic politics
of numerous African countries. There, they hope to expand Russian
influence on the continent while also exploiting Africa's natural
resources for their own profit.
The United States is not immune from the threat posed by the Wagner
Group. Mr. Prigozhin financed the Internet Research Agency, a Russian
troll farm that has attempted to interfere in the United States
elections and sow discord among the American people.
Let me be clear. Mr. Prigozhin is a direct threat to the United
States. We cannot allow this behavior to go unchecked. The United
States has responded forcefully, sanctioning him, the Wagner Group, the
Internet Research Agency, and many more of Mr. Prigozhin's front
companies and affiliates.
In October, I was glad to see the EU join the United States in
sanctioning Mr. Prigozhin as well.
However, we must keep up the pressure. That is why I support the
resolution before us today. It condemns Mr. Prigozhin's corrupt
activity, and it sends a direct message to the Kremlin that the United
States Congress will continue to hold Mr. Prigozhin accountable for his
efforts to further the Putin regime's malign agenda. It also exposes
the truth about the Kremlin's ridiculous claim that Mr. Prigozhin and
the Wagner Group operate independently.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this resolution's passage,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume
for the purpose of closing.
Mr. Speaker, Yevgeniy Prigozhin is an enemy of democracy and an
adversary of the U.S. and our allies.
From sowing discord and division through disinformation campaigns to
stoking violent conflicts around the world, Prigozhin is a dangerous
Putin crony.
This bipartisan measure condemns Prigozhin's nefarious activities and
demonstrates Congress' support for continued cooperation between the
United States and our European allies to hold him and his Kremlin
partners accountable.
Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting its
passage, 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 agree to the resolution, H. Res. 996, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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