[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 114 (Wednesday, July 10, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S4374]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2128. Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. Cassidy) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4638, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2025 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. ___. ALEXEI NAVALNY WAY.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The administration of President Vladimir V. Putin of
the Russian Federation has engaged in transnational
repression, assassinations of political opponents, poisoning
and other attempted murders of political opponents,
journalists, and human rights defenders, systemic human
rights abuses, and unprovoked military attacks against and
deployments to neighboring countries.
(2) The administration of President Vladimir V. Putin of
the Russian Federation has carried out arrests and detentions
of individuals who peacefully seek democratic freedoms or
oppose his repression, corruption, and invasion of Ukraine.
(3) Alexei Navalny was a Russian political dissident and
activist dedicated to promoting democratic freedoms and
fighting corruption in Russia.
(4) On February 16, 2024, the Russian prison where Alexei
Navalny was being held after his conviction on fabricated
charges in February 2021 announced that he had died a day
after he was seen in good health.
(5) Alexei Navalny had a history of exposing the widespread
corruption that sustained the Putin regime by enriching its
enablers. He was recognized and awarded on numerous occasions
for his work fighting corruption and promoting democratic
ideals. Those recognitions and awards include the 2015 Prize
of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience, a
nomination for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, the 2021 Boris
Nemtsov Prize for Courage, the 2021 Moral Courage Award by
the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, the 2021
Knight of Freedom Award by the Casimir Pulaski Foundation,
and the 2021 Sakharov Prize by the European Parliament.
(6) Alexei Navalny and fellow dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza
endured several poisonings and other attempts on their lives
carried out by Putin's government.
(7) Renaming the street near the official residence of the
Russian Ambassador to the United States serves as a
continuing expression of solidarity between the people of the
United States and the people of the Russian Federation, who
are engaged in a sustained, peaceful, and patriotic struggle
for fundamental freedoms.
(b) Designation of Alexei Navalny Way.--
(1) Designation of way.--
(A) In general.--The area of Sumner Row Northwest between
16th Street Northwest and L Street Northwest in Washington,
District of Columbia, shall be known and designated as
``Alexei Navalny Way''.
(B) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation,
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the
area referred to in subparagraph (A) shall be deemed to be a
reference to ``Alexei Navalny Way''.
(2) Signs.--The District of Columbia shall construct 2
street signs--
(A) that contain the phrase ``Alexei Navalny Way'';
(B) one of which shall be placed immediately above existing
signs between 1135 16th Street Northwest and 1119-1125 16th
Street Northwest;
(C) one of which shall be placed on a sign post at 1555 L
Street Northwest; and
(D) that are similar in design to the signs used by the
District of Columbia to designate the location of Metro
stations.
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