[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 69 (Wednesday, April 27, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H4530-H4532]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ASSET SEIZURE FOR UKRAINE RECONSTRUCTION ACT
Mr. PHILLIPS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 6930) to authorize the confiscation of assets subject to
United States jurisdiction of certain foreign persons, and for other
purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 6930
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 ``Asset Seizure for Ukraine
Reconstruction Act''.
[[Page H4531]]
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress as follows:
(1) The President should take all constitutional steps to
seize and confiscate assets under the jurisdiction of the
United States of foreign persons whose wealth is derived in
part through corruption linked to or political support for
the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin and with
respect to which the President has imposed sanctions.
(2) The President, by means of instructions, licenses, or
other regulations as may be promulgated and in a manner
consistent with due process of law, should confiscate any
property or accounts subject to the jurisdiction of the
United States, valued over $2,000,000, and belonging to
Russian energy companies or to foreign persons whose wealth
is derived in part through corruption linked to or political
support for the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin
and with respect to which the President has imposed
sanctions.
(3) All rights, title, and interest in any property so
confiscated should vest, upon the terms directed by the
President, in such agency or person as the President may
designate from time to time, and upon such terms and
conditions as the President may prescribe.
(4) Such interest or property should be held, used,
administered, liquidated, or sold, by such agency or person
and such designated agency or person should perform any and
all acts incident to the accomplishment or furtherance of
these purposes.
(5) The President should use all liquidated funds for the
benefit of the people of Ukraine, including for the
following:
(A) Post-conflict reconstruction in Ukraine.
(B) Humanitarian assistance.
(C) United States government assistance provided to the
security forces of the government of Ukraine.
(D) Provisions to support refugees and refugee resettlement
in neighboring countries and in the United States.
(E) Technology items and services to ensure the free flow
of information to the Ukrainian people in Ukraine, including
items to counter internet censorship by Russian authorities,
to circumvent efforts to shut down internet or communication
services by Russian authorities and bolster the cybersecurity
capabilities of Ukrainian Government or non-governmental
organizations.
(F) Humanitarian and development assistance for the Russian
people, including democracy and human rights programming and
monitoring.
SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.
The President shall establish an interagency working group,
which shall be headed by the Secretary of State, to determine
the constitutional mechanisms through which the President can
take steps to seize and confiscate assets under the
jurisdiction of the United States of foreign persons whose
wealth is derived in part through corruption linked to or
political support for the regime of Russian President
Vladimir Putin and with respect to which the President has
imposed sanctions.
SEC. 4. REPORT ON STEPS AND AUTHORITIES.
Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of State, on behalf of the
interagency working group, shall submit to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report about
the steps taken by the interagency working group to
accomplish the steps laid out in section 2, a report that
includes any recommendations to impose additional energy-
related sanctions on the Government of Russia, and a report
on any additional authorities the President needs to take
such steps.
SEC. 5. EXPANSION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO MEMBERS OF THE
RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT.
Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the President shall submit to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report, which
may be submitted in classified form if necessary, that
contains a justification for any determination of whether or
not, in addition to the sanctions imposed pursuant to
Executive Order 14024 (86 Fed. Reg. 73; relating to blocking
property with respect to specified 11 harmful foreign
activities of the Government of the Russian Federation),
imposing sanctions on 328 members of the Russian State Duma,
a determination as to whether remaining members of the Duma
and the Russian Federation Council, which includes officials
who may be involved in corrupt and other sanctionable
activities, who voted on February 22, 2022, to recognize the
Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People's
Republic (LPR), as well as the Russian Federation Council in
its entirety, should be subject to sanctions under the such
Executive Order.
SEC. 6. 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
Minnesota (Mr. Phillips) and the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr.
Wilson) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota.
{time} 1330
General Leave
Mr. PHILLIPS. 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. 6930, as amended.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Minnesota?
There was no objection.
Mr. PHILLIPS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6930, the
Asset Seizure for Ukraine Reconstruction Act, as amended.
Mr. Speaker, we have long known the Russian oligarch class is an
important pillar of President Putin's brutal and corrupt regime. These
Russian oligarchs have been able to enrich themselves and use their
wealth to consolidate power within their country and increase their
influence abroad.
As President Putin continues in his unjustified and premeditated
full-scale invasion into Ukraine, the United States must do all that it
can to identify and sanction his cronies bankrolling this brutality.
The Asset Seizure for Ukraine Reconstruction Act, as amended, takes
an important step in this direction. The bill expresses the sense of
Congress that the President should confiscate property subject to U.S.
jurisdiction worth over $2 million belonging to Russian energy
companies or Russian oligarchs whose wealth is derived from corruption
or by support of President Putin. It expresses the sense that such
property should be held, used, administered, liquidated, or sold, and
that any funds gained from such sale should be used to benefit the
Ukrainian people.
Furthermore, this legislation would also create an interagency
working group to determine the proper constitutional mechanisms through
which this could be achieved.
The luxury villas and fancy yachts and private airplanes of Putin and
his cronies are tainted with the blood of the Ukrainian people. Their
corrupt assets should be seized and should be used to rebuild Ukraine.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time
as I may consume.
Sadly, on February 24, war criminal Putin launched an unprovoked,
unjustified murderous war of aggression against the people of Ukraine.
The humanitarian toll has been devastating. More than 5 million
refugees have fled Ukraine. More than 7 million are believed to be
internally displaced, and we have seen on our screens the heart-
wrenching images of Putin's horrific war crimes in Bucha, Mariupol, and
elsewhere.
The economic toll for Ukraine is no less devastating. The World Bank
has forecasted that Ukraine's economy could contract by 45 percent this
year with a worst-case scenario seeing its GDP shrink by 75 percent.
The Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said last week during a
visit to Washington, that Ukraine would need around $5 billion a month
in budgetary support as long as the war continued and then roughly $600
billion for a broader rebuilding effort.
To rebuild this country, the Ukrainian Prime Minister requested not
only additional financial support from the United States and its allies
and partners, but also the transfer of Russian assets that have been
frozen by the global sanctions regime to Ukraine.
The U.S. must answer this call.
The resolution we are considering urges the President to establish an
interagency working group to determine the constitutional mechanisms
through which the United States could not only freeze but seize the
assets of Russian oligarchs within the United States if this property
was derived through corruption linked to the Putin regime.
The liquidated funds are to be repurposed for the benefit of the
people of Ukraine, including post-conflict reconstruction when the
Ukrainians win, humanitarian assistance, and assistance for the
security forces of the Government of Ukraine.
[[Page H4532]]
I was grateful to colead this legislation with our colleague, Tom
Malinowski of New Jersey. Thanks to an amendment from our colleague,
Peter Meijer, the bill also urges the administration to expand
sanctions on members of the Russian Parliament, the duma, who voted in
support of recognizing the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republic, which
are illegal fabrications. This vote served as part of Putin's pretext
to Russia's unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against the
people of Ukraine. Anyone who supported that vote must fall under U.S.
sanctions--full stop. The administration needs to seriously consider
how we can use the frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine fight and
continue winning, then rebuild its country. Therefore, I urge all
colleagues to join me in supporting this important bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PHILLIPS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Meijer).
Mr. MEIJER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Asset
Seizure for Ukraine Reconstruction Act, which I was proud to help
introduce with my colleague, Congressman Malinowski.
This bill sends a strong and clear message of support to the
Ukrainian people and a clear message to Putin and his cronies that
their ill-gotten assets are no longer welcome in the United States.
The Asset Seizure for Ukraine Reconstruction Act encourages the
administration to take necessary steps allowed by the Constitution and
existing laws to seize Russian assets valued over $2 million and
repurpose them towards post-conflict reconstruction and humanitarian
assistance in Ukraine.
It also includes my amendment that aims to expand sanctions on
members of Russia's Parliament who took the reckless and illegal vote
to recognize two breakaway states in the Donbas and authorize Putin to
use military force in Ukraine.
Although the Biden administration sanctioned 328 duma members who
voted on February 15 for a resolution calling on Putin to recognize the
Ukrainian breakaway states, the so-called Luhansk People's Republic and
Donetsk People's Republic, it has still not imposed similar sanctions
on the remaining duma members and the 154 members of the Federation
Council who voted just one week later to authorize Putin's senseless
war in Ukraine.
These Russian politicians, as well as the oligarchs who so
comfortably store their assets on U.S. territory, play a role in
Putin's illegal war, and they all deserve to be punished. Our bill
ensures that they do not escape accountability for their complicity in
the atrocities against Ukraine, which has left thousands of civilians
dead, and many millions displaced.
Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this critical and urgent bill.
Mr. PHILLIPS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time
as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, rather than financing war crimes in Ukraine and
multimillion-dollar yachts and real estate for Putin's cronies, this
money could be much better spent on urgently needed humanitarian aid
and weapons for Ukraine.
This makes sense for the people of Ukraine as well as for the
American taxpayer. I, therefore, urge my colleagues to join me in
supporting this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PHILLIPS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume
for the purpose of closing.
Mr. Speaker, the Asset Seizure for Ukraine Reconstruction Act, as
amended, sends a statement to Vladimir Putin and his cronies that the
U.S. Congress will make sure the United States is not a safe haven for
their corrupt assets.
The legislation makes it clear that the President should take
measures to seize and confiscate their assets subject to U.S.
jurisdiction and use the proceeds from such sales to help the Ukrainian
people, all while protecting and preserving the rights enshrined in our
Constitution.
I thank Representative Malinowski for authoring the bill, and I urge
my colleagues to support the legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Phillips) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6930, 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. ROY. Mr. 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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