[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 78 (Tuesday, May 10, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H4748-H4750]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RUSSIA AND BELARUS FINANCIAL SANCTIONS ACT OF 2022
Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules
and pass the bill (H.R. 7066) to require United States financial
institutions to ensure entities and persons owned or controlled by the
institution comply with financial sanctions on the Russian Federation
and the Republic of Belarus to the same extent as the institution
itself, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 7066
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 ``Russia and Belarus Financial
Sanctions Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS.
(a) In General.--A United States financial institution
shall take all actions necessary and available to cause any
entity or person owned or controlled by the institution to
comply with any provision of law described in subsection (b)
to the same extent as required of a United States financial
institution.
[[Page H4749]]
(b) Provision of Law Described.--A provision of law
described in this subsection is any prohibition or limitation
described in a sanctions-related statute, regulation or order
applicable to a United States financial institution
concerning the Russian Federation or the Republic of Belarus,
involving--
(1) the conduct of transactions;
(2) the acceptance of deposits;
(3) the making, granting, transferring, holding, or
brokering of loans or credits;
(4) the purchasing or selling of foreign exchange,
securities, commodity futures, or options;
(5) the procuring of purchasers and sellers described under
paragraph (4) as principal or agent; or
(6) any other good or service provided by a United States
financial institution.
(c) Penalty.--A United States financial institution that
violates subsection (a) shall be subject to the penalties
described in the applicable statute, regulation or order
applicable to a United States financial Institution.
(d) United States Financial Institution Defined.--In this
section, the term ``United States financial institution''
means any U.S. entity (including its foreign branches) that
is engaged in the business of accepting deposits, making,
granting, transferring, holding, or brokering loans or
credits, or purchasing or selling foreign exchange,
securities, futures or options, or procuring purchasers and
sellers thereof, as principal or agent. It includes
depository institutions, banks, savings banks, money services
businesses, operators of credit card systems, trust
companies, insurance companies, securities brokers and
dealers, futures and options brokers and dealers, forward
contract and foreign exchange merchants, securities and
commodities exchanges, clearing corporations, investment
companies, employee benefit plans, dealers in precious
metals, stones, or jewels, and U.S. holding companies, U.S.
affiliates, or U.S. subsidiaries of any of the foregoing.
This term includes those branches, offices, and agencies of
foreign financial institutions that are located in the United
States, but not such institutions' foreign branches, offices,
or agencies.
SEC. 3. 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
Illinois (Mr. Garcia) and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.
General Leave
Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and
extend their remarks on this legislation and include extraneous
material thereon.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Illinois?
There was no objection.
Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7066, the Russia and Belarus
Financial Sanctions Act, sponsored by Congressman Brad Sherman.
Within days of Russia's unjustified and inhumane invasion of Ukraine,
President Biden demonstrated strong leadership when he brought our
allies together to impose the toughest set of sanctions ever against a
major world economy.
The effectiveness of these sanctions will depend in large part on
strong enforcement of these restrictions and prohibitions by the U.S.
and by our allies.
{time} 1615
U.S. financial institutions, including banks, credit card companies,
broker-dealers, money service businesses, cryptocurrency exchanges, and
mobile wallets, play a pivotal role in the implementation of U.S.
sanctions. There is some ambiguity, however, as to whether compliance
by U.S. financial institutions extends to foreign entities that they
own or control.
Congressman Sherman's bill will clarify that all foreign operations
of U.S. financial institutions, including any subsidiaries domiciled
outside the United States, must fully comply with all existing
sanctions imposed in response to Russia's brutal war against Ukraine.
I thank Congressman Sherman for his good work on this bipartisan
bill, as well as Congressman Hill for partnering with him. This is a
commonsense clarification to ensure that we are doing all that we can
to degrade the Russian economy until it is no longer able to fund its
incursion into Ukraine and to show Russia that there are consequences
for its actions. For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support
this bill.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
House of Representatives,
Committee on Agriculture,
Washington, DC, May 6, 2022.
Hon. Maxine Waters,
Chairwoman, Committee on Financial Services, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairwoman Waters: This letter confirms our mutual
understanding regarding H.R. 7066, the Russia and Belarus
Financial Sanctions Act. Thank you for collaborating with the
Committee on Agriculture on the matters within our
jurisdiction.
The Committee on Agriculture will forego any further
consideration of this bill so that it may proceed
expeditiously to the House floor for consideration. However,
by foregoing consideration at this time, we do not waive any
jurisdiction over any subject matter contained in this or
similar legislation. We request that our Committee be
consulted and involved as this bill moves forward so that we
may address any remaining issues in our jurisdiction. The
Committee on Agriculture also reserves the right to seek
appointment of an appropriate number of conferees to any
House-Senate conference involving this or similar legislation
and ask that you support any such request.
We would appreciate a response to this letter confirming
this understanding with respect to H.R. 7066, and request
that a copy of our letters on this matter be published in the
Congressional Record during Floor consideration.
Sincerely,
David Scott,
Chairman.
____
House of Representatives,
Committee on Financial Services,
Washington, DC, May 9, 2022.
Hon. David Scott,
Chairman, Committee on Agriculture,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mister Chairman: I am writing to acknowledge your
letter dated May 9, 2022, regarding the waiver by the
Committee on Agriculture of any jurisdictional claims over
the matters contained in H.R. 7066, the ``Russian and Belarus
Financial Sanctions Act.'' The Committee on Financial
Services confirms our mutual understanding that your
Committee does not waive any jurisdiction over the subject
matter contained in this or similar legislation, and your
Committee will be appropriately consulted and involved as
this bill or similar legislation moves forward so that we may
address any remaining issues within your jurisdiction.
The Committee on Financial Services further recognizes your
interest in appointment of outside conferees from the
Committee on Agriculture should this bill or similar language
be considered in a conference with the Senate.
Pursuant to your request, I will ensure that this exchange
of letters is included in the Congressional Record during
Floor consideration of the bill. I appreciate your
cooperation regarding this legislation and look forward to
continuing to work with you as this measure moves through the
legislative process.
Sincerely,
Maxine Waters,
Chairwoman.
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Illinois for managing the bill.
It is also good to be on this House floor again talking on an issue
that we share in common, and that is the importance of sanctions being
successful as a part of our strategy to get Mr. Putin out of Ukraine.
So it has been very good to partner with my friend from California (Mr.
Sherman) on H.R. 7066, the Russia and Belarus Financial Sanctions Act.
Madam Speaker, U.S. financial institutions are already prohibited
from engaging in transactions with sanctioned Russian entities, but
H.R. 7066 extends that prohibition to entities owned or controlled by
U.S. financial institutions as well. This is a commonsense provision,
and it has helped other sanctions programs be more successful, and I
cite particularly the efforts to isolate Iran and North Korea.
Under the President's ongoing Russia measures, anyone providing
support to a sanctioned person runs the risk of being sanctioned
themselves. We know that U.S. financial institutions are fully aware of
us. Congress expects their full compliance and to be watchful on their
affiliates that may also do business with Russia.
As the U.S. continues to pressure the Putin regime, we must seek and
prevent opportunities for Russia to find loopholes for non-U.S.
financial institutions.
[[Page H4750]]
I am glad to see that our current sanctions on Russia are making it
more difficult for Moscow to find alternatives to Western banks.
However, opportunities remain for us to tighten these multilateral
sanctions and increase pressure on Russia, particularly in Russia's
energy exports. Both the United States and Europe continue to provide
carve-outs for energy transactions, and the next step on the sanctions
ladder is to close these loopholes so that Russia cannot receive hard
currency by selling oil and gas.
I hope that Republicans and Democrats can work together to pursue
this kind of policy and continue to collaborate on how to tighten the
financial noose around Putin. Just as we worked on this bill together,
I hope Members on both sides of the aisle will come together and
support the work of my friend from California.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman).
Mr. SHERMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7066, the
Russia and Belarus Financial Sanctions Act.
I thank Chairwoman Waters, Ranking Member McHenry, and my co-lead on
this bill, the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), for their work in
bringing forward this legislation.
This bill passed unanimously in the Financial Services Committee in
March. The Russia and Belarus Financial Sanctions Act represents a
significant step forward in imposing sanctions on Russia and on Belarus
for their historic aggression.
I have spent 26 years on the Foreign Affairs Committee and well over
a decade on the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus. I understand the
importance of financial sanctions in changing Russia's behavior in part
through my discussions with President Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian
leaders who have pointed out that that is their Achilles' heel.
Chairwoman Waters and I have for several years been pushing to
prohibit Americans from purchasing all new Russian sovereign debt and
have passed that through the House several times. But that was before
the invasion.
As has been explained by my colleagues who have spoken, we now have
effective sanctions prohibiting U.S. financial institutions from
engaging in a wide range of transactions with Russian and Belarusian
individuals and entities--particularly the Russian Central Bank--many
of the state-owned enterprises and financial institutions, and
oligarchs.
But what people have not focused on is that these sanctions apply
only to U.S. persons and do not apply to the over 1,000 foreign
subsidiaries of American financial institutions. As we meet here today,
foreign subsidiaries owned by U.S. financial institutions are engaging
in the very financial transactions that we have prohibited if engaged
by a U.S. institution. It is time to deal with this gaping loophole.
That is why this bill requires all U.S. financial institutions to
prevent their foreign subsidiaries from engaging in transactions
prohibited to U.S.-based financial institutions.
Madam Speaker, I think it is important that this bill has acquired
bipartisan support and shows that Congress comes together to deal with
this outrageous invasion, and I urge my colleagues to support this
timely legislation.
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
I thank my good friend, Mr. Sherman, on this bill, and let me remind
the leaders of the Kremlin that Americans on both sides of this aisle
are unified in our efforts to cut off the economic flow to the Kremlin,
and we share that objective with our friends in Europe. When I was in
Europe a few weeks ago, just before Easter, leaders in both Poland and
Romania reiterated that they are prepared to go further in economic
sanctions against the Putin regime and Moscow.
So it needs to be clear that Americans, while we are fully on board
with our transatlantic friends in constraining Mr. Putin, the announced
sanctions by President Biden and the sanctions that we are talking
about today are just a beginning point as this Congress works to
provide lethal assistance with 31 countries to help the Ukrainians
defend themselves. This Congress helps provide humanitarian assistance,
along with countries from all around the world and the United Nations,
to help the Ukrainians have the medicine, food, and material that they
need to survive in this really outrageous and unprecedented attack by
the Russians on the sovereign nation of Ukraine.
So it is important to note here that we are here not for the last
time to talk about how to fine-tune, how to tighten, and how to direct
our economic sanctions more successfully.
Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from California for our
collaboration on this. I encourage all Members on both sides of the
aisle to support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of
my time. The Russia and Belarus Financial Sanctions Act was passed by
our committee with bipartisan support. It provides an important
clarification to ensure financial institutions follow the law and
implement sanctions on Russia and Belarus.
Madam Speaker, I urge Members to support this bill, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Garcia) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 7066, 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. 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.
____________________