[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S3396]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 6227. Mr. KENNEDY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2027 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 in title XII, insert the
following:
SEC. ___. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS URGING THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH
AND LEADERS OF THE G7 AND THE EUROPEAN UNION TO
SEIZE SOVEREIGN ASSETS OF THE RUSSIAN
FEDERATION.
(a) Finding.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Since the illegal invasion of Ukraine by the Russian
Federation, the Russian Federation has committed widespread
attacks on civilians amounting to crimes against humanity,
including--
(A) widespread, systemic, and deliberate targeting of
civilians by drones where civilians have been targeted for
attack while going about their daily lives outside, and
ambulances were struck while attempting to provide medical
assistance;
(B) documented war crimes, including extrajudicial killings
and torture of civilians and prisoners of war that are
systemic and widespread throughout areas controlled by the
Russian Federation;
(C) rape and sexual violence committed by Russian soldiers
against male and female civilians and prisoners of war; and
(D) the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children to at least
210 different facilities inside the Russian Federation or
areas controlled by the Russian Federation where the children
are subjected to re-education and militarization.
(2) The humanitarian costs of the invasion of Ukraine have
been enormous, including--
(A) approximately 14,000 documented deaths of civilians,
and more than 35,458 documented civilian casualties,
including 700 children killed and 2,200 children injured
since the start of the war;
(B) an estimated 120,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed or
missing in action;
(C) displacement of more than 10,000,000 people, with
3,600,000 displaced within Ukraine and 6,900,000 seeking
refuge abroad; and
(D) indiscriminate shelling and bombing in population
centers leading to the destruction of critical civilian
infrastructure that will cost an estimated $524,000,000,000
to rebuild.
(3) The conduct of the Russian Federation has not only
harmed Ukraine but violates Article 2(4) of the United
Nations Charter requiring states to refrain from the use of
force against the territorial integrity or political
independence of any state.
(4) The principle of state responsibility under
international law holds that a state committing an
internationally wrongful act is obligated to make full
reparation for the injury caused.
(5) The legal doctrine of countermeasures under customary
international law permits targeted and proportionate
responses to serious breaches of international obligations,
including the use of seized sovereign assets to repair harm
caused by such breaches.
(6) In response to the illegal aggression by the Russian
Federation, members of the G7 imposed sanctions and froze
Russian sovereign assets but have fallen short of
confiscating such assets.
(7) The continued passive freezing of Russian sovereign
assets without a clear mechanism for permanent seizure and
repurposing fails to uphold the principle of accountability
and undermines the deterrent value of economic sanctions.
(8) In 2024, Congress passed the Rebuilding Economic
Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act (22 U.S.C. 9521
note; Public Law 118-50)(commonly known as the ``REPO for
Ukrainians Act'') to establish a domestic legal framework for
the seizure and transfer of Russian sovereign assets.
(9) The United States, every member of the European Union,
and all but one member of the G7 are participating states of
the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
(10) On July 3, 2025, the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe adopted
unanimously in plenary session the Porto Declaration, which
``[c]alls on OSCE participating States to unlock the full
value of an estimated [$300,000,000,000 United States
dollars] in Russian sovereign assets frozen across the region
by repurposing the underlying principal, in sizeable
increments and on a regular and timely schedule, for Ukraine
until the Russian Federation ends its aggression and agrees
to compensate Ukraine for damages directly resulting from the
war''.
(11) The implementation of such seizure requires robust
coordination with international partners to mitigate legal,
diplomatic, and financial risks and to maximize legitimacy
and effectiveness.
(12) Allied hesitation and lack of harmonized frameworks
have impeded progress toward the actual transfer of such
assets.
(13) It is in the strategic and moral interest of the
United States to lead an international coalition in
converting immobilized Russian sovereign assets into a
funding mechanism for the recovery and global security of
Ukraine.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
Congress--
(1) determines that the Russian Federation bears full
financial responsibility for the harm caused by its unlawful
war of aggression against Ukraine, and the assets of the
Russian Federation should be used to satisfy that
responsibility;
(2) remains steadfast in its support for the sovereignty,
independence, and right to self-defense of Ukraine, and
believes all available diplomatic, legal, and economic tools
should be leveraged to hold the Russian Federation
accountable;
(3) recommends that the executive branch advocate
internationally that--
(A) the violation of international law by the Russian
Federation removes its entitlement to sovereign immunity
protections over assets located abroad, under the doctrine of
countermeasures;
(B) international law and precedent provide a legal basis
for permanent confiscation of state-owned assets in response
to grave violations of the international order; and
(C) the seizure of assets is a legitimate means of
supporting the reconstruction of Ukraine and deterring future
acts of aggression by other states;
(4) strongly urges all countries with sovereign assets of
the Russian Federation under their jurisdiction--
(A) to pursue harmonization of domestic legal authorities
to provide their governments with seizure powers equivalent
to the powers granted by the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity
and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act (22 U.S.C. 9521 note;
Public Law 118-50);
(B) to partner with the United States to develop and
implement a multilateral sovereign asset repurposing fund
that facilitates the lawful seizure and repurposing of
Russian sovereign assets for the benefit of Ukraine; and
(C) to confiscate such assets and allocate them to Ukraine
in tranches of not less than $10,000,000,000 United States
dollars per month until the funds are expended to support the
defense of Ukraine against the Russian Federation; and
(5) calls on the President, the Secretary of State, and the
Secretary of Defense to pressure any country with sovereign
assets of the Russian Federation within their jurisdiction to
confiscate such assets by--
(A) prioritizing the sale of United States weapons to
countries that are found to have sovereign assets of the
Russian Federation within their jurisdiction, and which have
seized and distributed the assets to a fund for Ukraine; and
(B) deprioritizing the sale of United States weapons to
countries that are found to have sovereign assets of the
Russian Federation within their jurisdiction and have not
seized and distributed the assets to a fund for Ukraine.
______