[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 61 (Wednesday, April 6, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H4212-H4216]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     UKRAINE INVASION WAR CRIMES DETERRENCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 7276) to direct the President to submit to Congress a report on 
United States Government efforts to collect, analyze, and preserve 
evidence and information related to war crimes and any other atrocities 
committed during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine since 
February 24, 2022, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 7276

       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 Invasion War Crimes 
     Deterrence and Accountability Act''.

     SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) in its premeditated, unprovoked, unjustified, and 
     unlawful full-scale invasion of Ukraine that commenced on 
     February 24, 2022, the military of the Government of the 
     Russian Federation under the direction of President Vladimir 
     Putin has committed war crimes that include but are not 
     limited to--
       (A) the deliberate targeting of civilians and injuring or 
     killing of noncombatants;
       (B) the deliberate targeting and attacking of hospitals, 
     schools, and other non-military buildings dedicated to 
     religion, art, science, or charitable purposes, such as the 
     bombing of a theater in Mariupol that served as a shelter for 
     noncombatants and had the word ``children'' written clearly 
     in the Russian language outside;
       (C) the indiscriminate bombardment of undefended dwellings 
     and buildings;
       (D) the wanton destruction of property not justified by 
     military necessity;
       (E) unlawful civilian deportations;
       (F) the taking of hostages; and
       (G) rape, or sexual assault or abuse;
       (2) the use of chemical weapons by the Government of the 
     Russian Federation in Ukraine would constitute a war crime, 
     and engaging in any military preparations to use chemical 
     weapons or to develop, produce, stockpile, or retain chemical 
     weapons is prohibited by the Chemical Weapons Convention, to 
     which the Russian Federation is a signatory;
       (3) Vladimir Putin has a long record of committing acts of 
     aggression, systematic abuses of human rights, and acts that 
     constitute war crimes or other atrocities both at home and 
     abroad, and the brutality and scale of these actions, 
     including in the Russian Federation republic of Chechnya, 
     Georgia, Syria, and Ukraine, demonstrate the extent to which 
     his regime is willing to flout international norms and values 
     in the pursuit of its objectives;
       (4) Vladimir Putin has previously sanctioned the use of 
     chemical weapons at home and abroad, including in the 
     poisonings of Russian spy turned double agent Sergei Skripal 
     and his daughter Yulia and leading Russian opposition figure 
     Aleksey Navalny, and aided and abetted the use of chemical 
     weapons by President Bashar al-Assad in Syria; and
       (5) in 2014, the Government of the Russian Federation 
     initiated its unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine 
     which resulted in its illegal occupation of Crimea, the 
     unrecognized declaration of independence by the so-called 
     ``Donetsk People's Republic'' and ``Luhansk People's 
     Republic'' by Russia-backed proxies, and numerous human 
     rights violations and deaths of civilians in Ukraine.

     SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

       It is the policy of the United States--
       (1) to collect, analyze, and preserve evidence and 
     information related to war crimes and other atrocities 
     committed during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine 
     that began on February 24, 2022, for use in appropriate 
     domestic, foreign, and international courts and tribunals 
     prosecuting those responsible for such crimes;
       (2) to help deter the commission of war crimes and other 
     atrocities in Ukraine by publicizing to the maximum possible 
     extent, including among Russian and other foreign military 
     commanders and troops in Ukraine, efforts to identify and 
     prosecute those responsible for the commission of war crimes 
     during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine that began 
     on February 24, 2022; and
       (3) to continue efforts to identify, deter, and pursue 
     accountability for war crimes and other atrocities committed 
     around the world and by other perpetrators, and to leverage 
     international cooperation and best practices in this regard 
     with respect to the current situation in Ukraine.

     SEC. 4. REPORT ON UNITED STATES EFFORTS.

       Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, and consistent with the protection of intelligence 
     sources and methods, the President shall submit to the 
     appropriate congressional committees a report, which may 
     include a classified annex, describing in detail the 
     following:
       (1) United States Government efforts to collect, analyze, 
     and preserve evidence and information related to war crimes 
     and other atrocities committed during the full-scale Russian 
     invasion of Ukraine since February 24, 2022, including a 
     description of--
       (A) the respective roles of various agencies, departments, 
     and offices, and the interagency mechanism established for 
     the coordination of such efforts;
       (B) the types of information and evidence that are being 
     collected, analyzed, and preserved to help identify those 
     responsible for the commission of war crimes or other 
     atrocities during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine 
     in 2022; and
       (C) steps taken to coordinate with, and support the work 
     of, allies, partners, international institutions and 
     organizations, and nongovernmental organizations in such 
     efforts.
       (2) Media, public diplomacy, and information operations to 
     make Russian military commanders, troops, political leaders 
     and the Russian people aware of efforts to identify and 
     prosecute those responsible for the

[[Page H4213]]

     commission of war crimes or other atrocities during the full-
     scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and of the types 
     of acts that may be prosecutable.
       (3) The process for a domestic, foreign, or international 
     court or tribunal to request and obtain from the United 
     States Government information related to war crimes or other 
     atrocities committed during the full-scale Russian invasion 
     of Ukraine in 2022.

     SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
     ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
       (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on the 
     Judiciary, and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 
     of the House of Representatives; and
       (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on 
     the Judiciary, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of 
     the Senate.
       (2) Atrocities.--The term ``atrocities'' has the meaning 
     given that term in section 6(2) of the Elie Wiesel Genocide 
     and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-441; 22 
     U.S.C. 2656 note).
       (3) War crime.--The term ``war crime'' has the meaning 
     given that term in section 2441(c) of title 18, United States 
     Code.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. 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. 7276, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7276, the Ukraine 
Invasion War Crimes Deterrence and Accountability Act introduced by my 
good friend and the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs 
Committee, Mr. McCaul.
  I want to thank Mr. McCaul for working collectively across the aisle 
as we do on many bills, but on this important bill, for his leadership 
on it. It is very timely and very important.
  Mr. Speaker, each day we see a growing body of horrifying evidence of 
atrocities that Russian troops have wreaked on Ukrainian citizens. Mr. 
McCaul and I traveled to Poland, and we saw with our own eyes the 
refugees fleeing Ukraine because of Putin's war; not knowing whether 
they would see their husbands or fathers or uncles ever again; not 
knowing what their tomorrow would be.
  This week, the images, the videos, and the firsthand accounts from 
Bucha were nothing short of chilling, and as it did seeing the refugees 
cross the border in Poland, it pains my heart to know that this is 
likely just the tip of the iceberg of what Ukrainians have suffered.

                              {time}  1245

  In attempting to justify his war of choice on Ukraine, Putin's 
relentless dehumanization of Ukrainians has laid the foundation for 
atrocities so vile it churns one's stomach.
  We have seen this before, Mr. Speaker. It is the same dehumanization 
that has led to every genocide before. I fear what we have seen in 
Bucha is happening throughout Ukraine right now, and it will only get 
worse.
  Nothing we do on this floor today will erase the generational trauma 
that Putin's forces have inflicted on Ukrainians, but we can and must 
ensure that the United States of America is doing everything in its 
power to collect evidence that can be used to prosecute Russian war 
crimes and other atrocities. Hopefully, that will deter further 
systemic human rights abuses in this conflict.
  H.R. 7276 would require the administration to detail efforts to 
collect, analyze, and preserve evidence of war crimes, and to describe 
the process through which a domestic, foreign, or international court 
or tribunal could request and obtain information related to war crimes 
or other atrocities from the United States.
  Every day of this illegal and unprovoked war further unites the 
global community against Russia's aggression in Ukraine. The images 
that we continue to see day in and day out are shocking to the 
conscience and also a call to action.
  To the leaders of the nations who have yet to condemn this barbaric 
war of choice, I ask them to please watch these videos of civilians 
being bombed and, as we did both in Poland and with those who visited 
us here in the House of Representatives, listen to the survivors who 
witnessed their neighbors and their friends shot in the streets or in 
their homes, some bound with their hands behind their backs.
  The camera of history is rolling, Mr. Speaker, and it will remember 
those countries that remain silent.
  Russia's aggression in Ukraine must stop. We must unequivocally 
condemn the atrocities that are being carried out by Putin and his 
Russian invading forces. Those who are responsible, Mr. Speaker, must 
be brought to justice, no matter how long it takes or how hard it may 
be.
  The Ukraine Invasion War Crimes Deterrence and Accountability Act 
will help in collecting the necessary evidence so that we can do just 
that: Hold those individuals accountable for the atrocities that they 
have committed.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to join and support this 
crucial legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear friend, Chairman Meeks, for working with 
me on this important legislation. This is a historic time, and it is a 
historic bill.
  This is the largest invasion in Europe since World War II, with war 
crimes in Europe the likes of which we haven't seen since my father's 
generation in my father's war.
  Mr. Speaker, the world is watching, and history will judge us all by 
how we act, by our actions. As the chairman said, the tape is filming; 
the reel is filming this. We are seeing these horrific images coming 
out of Ukraine as I speak, and sadly, there will be many more. We have 
just hit the surface.
  Corpses are littering the streets of Bucha, their hands tied behind 
their backs and bullets in their heads. Some are decapitated.
  A pregnant woman, covered in blood--these monsters bombed a maternity 
hospital, for God's sake--as she gets wheeled out, holding on to her 
womb or baby. Sadly, and tragically, both she and her baby did not 
survive that day.
  Mothers are raped in front of their children, and young girls are 
raped in front of their families--girls.
  The bodies of families are half-buried together in shallow graves, 
with their hands still sticking out of the ground.
  My God, what is happening in this world? I never imagined or thought 
I would see this in my lifetime. This is of centuries ago, not today.
  The bombing of apartments and public buildings providing refuge to 
children and the elderly, including a theater in Mariupol that had the 
word ``children'' written outside so large in Russian that the 
satellites could see it--we could see it from satellites. What do the 
Russians do? They bombed it. They bombed it knowing that there were 
children inside.
  Today, just today, most disturbing, we have reporting out of Ukraine 
that Russia is bringing in mobile crematoriums to deal with the carnage 
because there are so many bodies in the streets. They are bringing in 
mobile crematoriums in an effort to hide the evidence of their crimes.
  These are Putin's war crimes, and he will be held responsible. He and 
his cronies, and the Russian troops who have carried them out, must be 
held accountable.
  Sadly, these are not the first war crimes committed by Putin's 
troops, as the people of Chechnya, Georgia, and Syria can attest.
  We cannot wait for the next atrocity before we act. We must do what 
we can now to deter Russian leaders, commanders, and troops in the 
field from committing further war crimes.
  That is why we introduced this legislation. It will ensure the United 
States helps the people of Ukraine gather, analyze, and maintain the 
evidence of these war crimes.
  It will also put Russian troops--I think ``troops'' is probably not 
the right word--these Russian monsters and their leaders on notice that 
the world is watching.
  The world is watching them right now, and we are taking names. We are

[[Page H4214]]

taking the names of these war criminals; we are taking photographs; we 
are taking surveillance; and we are taking the satellite imagery to 
document this injustice, this crime against humanity. And we will seek 
justice.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the bipartisan efforts that our 
committee has made. But on the topic, I just have to--my God, I can't 
believe we are here even talking about this. I can't believe this is 
actually happening in this world, in this century.
  These horrific atrocities in Bucha have made one thing crystal clear: 
No country can remain neutral in the face of this evil. The entire 
world needs to rally against Mr. Putin and these war crimes. Passing 
this bill is a step forward to getting justice done.
  I was a Federal prosecutor for a good part of my life, and I have 
dealt with a lot of victims. I have seen a lot of really awful things 
that man can do to mankind. I have to say, Mr. Speaker, this is 
probably--in fact, it is absolutely the worst thing I have seen in my 
lifetime.
  The world is watching, and history will judge us all. All nations 
will judge us all by what we do here and now.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the leadership of our 
chairman and the working relationship with the ranking member.
  Mr. Speaker, I was in Lithuania as the Russians were coming in, and I 
spent a couple of days there with the hopes and dreams of many people 
that, in actuality, there would not be an invasion of Russia into 
Ukraine, even though we were being briefed on the 30,000 to 40,000 
troops in Belarus.
  Even on that day, we spoke to Ukraine parliamentarians, who indicated 
that they were leaving the meeting we were in and taking a 17-hour trip 
back to Ukraine as their son was standing up to join the Ukrainian 
military.
  Little did we expect--as some people said, ``just a couple of 
days''--that we would be at a point where--we will not call it World 
War III, but we will call it the most brutal, vicious, and murderous 
effort in Europe and the world almost since World War II.
  I cannot fathom the bodies found in a pit. I cannot understand moms 
and babies dying in the street. I cannot understand or accept the 
numbers of civilians targeted, their bodies strewn throughout the 
various cities.
  The movement to the east, the destruction of Odessa, and the 
unwillingness of Vladimir Putin to even think of being serious at the 
peace table--it is important to say pronounced war crimes have been 
committed, that he must be at The Hague.
  I believe Europe should be more pronounced in its annunciation. I 
frankly believe that there is a heavier penalty that he must pay. I 
don't believe he should sit at another table of Western civilization.
  Most importantly, I rise to support this legislation and believe 
America is right to insist on Mr. Putin being tried for war crimes.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7276 the 
Ukraine Invasion War Crimes Deterrence and Accountability Act, to 
direct the President to submit a report to Congress on the United 
States efforts to collect and analyze evidence and information related 
to the war crimes committed by the Russian Federation during their 
full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
  This legislation requires the Administration to detail the process 
our government will undertake to collect, analyze, and preserve 
evidence of these war crimes, so that perpetrators of these and other 
atrocities are held accountable.
  There is no question of whether the Russian Federation, under the 
direction of Vladimir Putin has been defying the laws of war throughout 
its unprovoked, unjust, and unlawful invasion of Ukraine.
  H.R. 7276 will ensure the U.S. maintains a coordinated effort to 
collect evidence to be used to prosecute Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
  This bill will help to deter future war crimes by ensuring Russian 
troops and their commanders know the world is watching closely.
  In the three decades since gaining its independence, Ukraine has 
sought its own path to sovereignty and has pursued closer economic, 
social, and political ties with the free market and democratic nations 
of the West.
  Since 2013, the Russian Federation under the direction of President 
Vladimir Putin, has imposed a campaign of political, economic, and 
military aggression against Ukraine.
  In February 2014, the Russian military began the invasion of eastern 
regions in Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula. The military also 
backed separatist insurgents in the Donbass region, where fighting has 
killed over 14,000 people.
  Today the world is witnessing the unprovoked aggression and invasion 
ordered by Vladimir Putin.
  President Putin and his associates must be held personally liable for 
the war crimes committed against the people of Ukraine.
  Russia claims it is not attacking civilians, yet thousands of people 
have been killed, mostly from explosive weapons with a wide impact 
area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket 
systems, and missile and air strikes.
  Families are being separated by war, adults and children are being 
ruthlessly killed, and civilian infrastructure has been completely 
obliterated in parts of eastern Ukraine.
  These reckless Russian attacks have leveled homes, preschools, post 
offices, museums, sports facilities, hospitals, and factories.
  Power and gas lines have been severed, bridges and railway stations 
blown up intentionally to restrict refugee movement within the country.
  Civilians have been killed in their cars, while waiting in bread 
lines, and while seeking treatment in hospitals.
  Remnants of a missile were found in a Ukrainian zoo, residential 
neighborhoods have been shelled to pieces and morgues are overflowing 
with bodies.
  Additionally, a rogue Russia is violently crushing political speech 
opposing the war from its own citizens.
  As Russian ground forces advance in Ukraine, Ukrainians are 
sheltering from artillery shells and cruise missiles in subways and 
bomb shelters.
  But in addition to the conventional military forces that Russia 
brings to bear, Russia has been utilizing nonconventional warfare for 
years.
  Russia has been running a long-running campaign to cast Ukrainians as 
Nazis and the perpetrators of genocide against Russian-speakers in 
eastern Ukraine in order to justify an invasion.
  The western world must continue to march in lockstep against this 
senseless Russian invasion of a sovereign nation.
  We will make it clear to President Putin that there is no possibility 
for him to win this war when our alliances are as united and as 
fortified as they are now and will continue to be throughout the entire 
duration of this conflict.
  Putin may seize ground, but he will never hold it.
  Thank you, and I look forward to discussing recommended measures to 
hold Russia accountable for this manufactured war.

                              {time}  1300

  Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Arkansas (Mr. Hill).
  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7276, the 
Ukraine Invasion War Crimes Deterrence and Accountability Act.
  I am a proud cosponsor of this important legislation, and I thank 
Chairman Meeks and the committee for working with Ranking Member McCaul 
on this critical, bipartisan bill.
  Last weekend, the world saw in Bucha what the Ukrainian people have 
been telling us since the start of this invasion, that the Russians are 
indiscriminately torturing and executing Ukrainian men, women, and 
children.
  It is important in these periods of conflict that the United States 
contribute to collecting, analyzing, and preserving critical evidence 
of war crimes and other atrocities.
  For two decades Putin has gone unchecked and never paid a diplomatic 
or even economic price for his 22 years of mania. He has never faced, 
until he met the Ukrainians, true armed resistance. He leveled Grozny, 
destroyed historic Aleppo with his coconspirator and partner, Assad, 
and he waltzed into Crimea, Mr. Speaker, in 2014 without firing a shot. 
The line has been finally drawn in Ukraine.
  This House, on a bipartisan basis, has worked to document Assad's 
mass murder in Syria. As a result of that work and the work of the 
United Nations Mechanism, we have had a recent conviction in Koblenz, 
Germany, of a Syrian intelligence official for crimes against humanity.
  The U.N. recently approved an independent inquiry into Ukraine. That 
is precisely the same step of a decade ago in Syria. Enacting this 
legislation will ensure that the United States contributes to this 
effort.

[[Page H4215]]

  I encourage all my colleagues to support this important bill, and I 
thank Mr. Meeks and Mr. McCaul for their leadership.
  Mr. MEEKS. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time at this 
moment, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCAUL. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
New Jersey (Mr. Smith).
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend for 
yielding, and I thank both Ranking Member McCaul and Chairman Meeks for 
their extraordinary leadership on this important bill that is before us 
today.
  I want to thank Mr. Meeks for his eloquent remarks a moment ago 
summarizing the absolute atrocities that are being committed by 
Vladimir Putin, his military, and Lukashenko who is the enabler, the 
President of Belarus. The gentleman has described in vivid detail just 
how horrific this is. And as my good friend from Texas said a moment 
ago, my father fought in World War II as well in the South Pacific, but 
the crimes that were committed by imperial Japan and by the Nazis are 
now being replicated on a grand scale by Vladimir Putin. It has to 
stop, and it has to stop yesterday. So I rise in strong support of this 
legislation.
  Madam Speaker, on March 8 I chaired a hearing at the Tom Lantos Human 
Rights Commission entitled ``Accountability for Russia's War Crimes and 
Aggression Against Ukraine.'' The day before I also introduced a 
resolution calling for accountability for Vladimir Putin for his crimes 
against the Ukrainian people and his aggression against Ukraine.
  The witnesses could not have been more clear that delay is denial and 
that we need to act now.
  I was very much involved with the court in the former Yugoslavia and 
very involved with the court for Sierra Leone. David Crane led that 
effort. I was very involved with the Rwandan court and tried to get a 
court for Syria but failed. I pushed hard for it with a resolution on 
this floor, and the House did pass it.
  But the key here is timeliness. Don't wait.
  The ICC, while it may do some good here, and they do have an 
investigation that they have instituted, the ICC has been notoriously 
slow. They have had less than 10 convictions over 20 years. Now, if 
that venue works, great. But my concern--and I think the concern shared 
by many, particularly in the NGO community--is that there needs to be 
another venue stood up quickly that could make the difference.
  At the March hearing, David Crane, the founding Chief Prosecutor of 
the U.N. Special Court for Sierra Leone, talked about an international 
tribunal created by the United Nations General Assembly. We are all 
thinking, Hey, when it gets to the Security Council, the Security 
Council will have two vetoes at least. It will be Russia, and it will 
be China. Not so in the General Assembly. They can stand up a court and 
they can do it tomorrow that would indict Vladimir Putin on the next 
day.
  There is certainly enough evidence--keep building the evidence, of 
course--but there is enough evidence to do it right now, and that, 
hopefully, will tell everybody around him that the time will come when 
you will be in the dock as well.
  I remember meeting with Slobodan Milosevic in Serbia and going to 
Bosnia and Croatia many times during that horrific war in the Balkans. 
Time and time again he thought he was untouchable, total impunity 
because of that. He killed so many because there was no accountability. 
Well, he went to The Hague as part of the ad hoc tribunal, and he died 
while the proceedings were underway. But he would have been held to 
account.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this. We have already 
had one vote in the General Assembly, 141 out of 198 voted and a number 
of people abstained. You only need a simple majority.
  I did ask our number two at the State Department, at   Gregory Meeks' 
hearing earlier today, to take back to the administration the idea of 
looking at all the venues. But let's get a court constituted 
immediately. If the ICC wants to step in at some point, fine. But 
indict Putin. Indict him, and you will see some people running like 
rats on the ship who were a part of his regime knowing that they, too, 
will be held accountable and sent to prison for the rest of their 
lives.
  Mr. MEEKS. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCAUL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for 
the purpose of closing.
  Madam Speaker, we rise today not as Republicans or Democrats but as 
Americans and as a united Congress on behalf of the American people 
condemning these atrocities.
  Madam Speaker, there is a group called the Wagner Group that is 
entering Ukraine right now. They are the worst of the worst. They are 
mercenaries. They are cold-blooded killers. Mr. Putin has sent them to 
Africa to kill people in Mali and Libya, and they have been in the 
Donbas previously. They have a saying, these Wagner thugs, these 
monsters, that our business is killing, and business is good.
  This is sick. They rape women and girls. They kill for a living, and, 
yes, now they are entering Ukraine.
  Sadly, Madam Speaker, I am not sure Bucha is the last we are going to 
see of this, and when the dust clears from Mariupol, God knows what we 
are going to find there. God only knows. When they are talking about 
mobile crematoriums to hide the evidence of so much carnage and so many 
bodies to be burned. This has to stop.
  We are standing together united as Americans condemning this, and as 
a former Federal prosecutor, yes, to indict Mr. Putin for his crimes 
against humanity.
  Mr. Putin thought his legacy after this fiasco was going to be 
reclaiming the glory of the empire. He would be known as great as the 
czars or maybe Stalin. Maybe he is like Stalin. His legacy is not going 
to be reclaiming the empire. His legacy is going to be that of a war 
criminal. That will impact his psyche, and that will impact all those 
around him, including his oligarchs, that no one is safe here, that you 
will be indicted internationally, and that you will be brought to 
justice.
  For without justice in the face of these crimes against humanity, 
what good are we? So this is an historic moment.
  I want to thank the chairman, as always, on this committee for 
working with me to stand up against evil, because that is exactly what 
this is.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. MEEKS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for 
the purpose of closing.
  Madam Speaker, what we are witnessing Russian troops do in Ukraine 
represents some of the worst of humankind. Right now, the world is 
watching horrifying war crimes taking place. The world is watching the 
extent to which Putin is willing to flout international norms and 
values in the pursuit of its brutality, and the world is also watching 
what we as a nation are going to do about it.
  The Department of State has officially concluded that Russian forces 
have committed war crimes in Ukraine which were made vividly clear by 
the horrifying images emerging over this past weekend from Bucha. 
Investigations into these war crimes are already beginning and must 
continue.
  I am saying today, as chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee 
working along with my friend and partner, the ranking member,  Mike 
McCaul, we will work tirelessly to make sure that justice is delivered 
and that the administration works strenuously in concert with partners 
and allies to this end because meaningful justice for these crimes 
helps prevent such atrocities in the future.
  This legislation requires the administration to detail efforts to 
preserve evidence and hold perpetrators accountable for the atrocities 
that are committed and to detail the means for domestic, hybrid, or 
international courts and their tribunals to request access to such 
information.
  This legislation, the Ukrainian Invasion War Crimes Deterrence and 
Accountability Act, will ensure that victims and perpetrators alike 
know that the United States of America and the world, we have got to 
get those off the seat, those who abstain in the U.N., they see the 
same thing. We need them to stand and have a voice.
  The world is watching. The world will hold Putin and the Russian 
Armed

[[Page H4216]]

Forces and those who are in their duma and those who keep pushing this 
war that is caused by one man, Vladimir Putin--these abhorrent war 
crimes which continue to go on--accountable. It is a war of choice that 
Putin has decided to place on Ukraine.
  That is why, Madam Speaker, I am so proud to partner with  Mike 
McCaul in bringing H.R. 7276 to the floor today so that my children, my 
grandchildren, my great-great-grandchildren, will know how I stood at 
this time in history and how the United States Congress stood at this 
time in history.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Jackson Lee). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 7276, 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. MEEKS. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion 
are postponed.

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