[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7338 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7338
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 21, 2022
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To require congressional notification prior to payments of Department
of State rewards using cryptocurrencies, and for other purposes.
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 Cryptocurrency Transparency
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) On February 24, 2022, the Government of the Russian
Federation, led by Vladimir Putin, launched an unprovoked,
full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
(2) This unprovoked act of aggression violates Ukraine's
right to independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity,
and constitutes an emergency in international relations.
(3) The invasion by the Government of the Russian
Federation of Ukraine caused significant displacement in
Ukraine and triggered a broader humanitarian crisis in Europe.
(4) On March 23, 2022, the Department of State released a
statement assessing that the Russian Armed Forces committed war
crimes by launching indiscriminate attacks on civilians and
non-military infrastructure, including apartment buildings,
schools, and hospitals, leaving thousands of innocent civilians
killed or wounded.
(5) The United Nations Office for Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs has projected that, over the next three
months, 12,000,000 people living in Ukraine will need
humanitarian assistance, 6,700,000 people will be internally
displaced, and 4,000,000 people will flee Ukraine.
(6) Rapid humanitarian assistance is necessary 6 across
sectors to address the needs of refugees and internally
displaced persons from Ukraine.
(7) Cryptocurrency has been used as an effective cross-
border payment tool to send millions to the Ukrainian
Government, Ukrainian army, and Ukrainian refugees with limited
access to financial services.
(8) In response to the war of aggression by the Government
of the Russian Federation, the United States has imposed an
array of sanctions, cutting off major Russian financial
institutions from Western markets and freezing the assets of
numerous Russian oligarchs.
(9) Given that regimes sanctioned by the United States have
used cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions, there are increasing
concerns that these digital assets may be used to circumvent
the sanctions now imposed on Russia and Belarus by the United
States and other foreign countries.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATIONS FOR STATE DEPARTMENT CRYPTOCURRENCY
REWARDS.
(a) Congressional Notification.--Subsection (e) of section 36 of
the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2708) is
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(7) The Secretary of State shall notify the appropriate
congressional committees not later than 15 days before paying
out a reward in cryptocurrency.''.
(b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report on the use of
cryptocurrency as a part of the Department of State Rewards program
that--
(1) explains why the Department of State made the
determination to pay out rewards in cryptocurrency;
(2) lists each cryptocurrency payment already provided by
the State Department;
(3) provides evidence as to why cryptocurrency payments
would be more likely to induce whistleblowers to come forward
with information than rewards paid out in United States dollars
or other prizes;
(4) analyzes how the State Department's use of
cryptocurrency could undermine the dollar's status as the
global reserve currency; and
(5) examines if the State Department's use of
cryptocurrency could provide bad actors with additional hard-
to-trace funds that could be used for criminal or illicit
purposes.
(c) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives;
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
SEC. 4. REPORT ON BLOCKCHAIN USAGE FOR UKRANIAN HUMANITARIAN NEEDS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the
Secretary of the Treasury and the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development, shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report on the most effective avenues to
promote economic development and provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine,
including possible uses of cryptocurrencies or other technologies
incorporating blockchains. Such report shall--
(1) review and analyze the advantages offered by cross-
border transactions involving digital assets relative to other
traditional avenues for cross-border humanitarian relief
payments and the reasons for those advantages, including
structural barriers which may impact the cost, efficiency, and
reliability of traditional payment channels; and
(2) also review and analyze ways in which technologies
incorporating blockchains can--
(A) assist in the care, support, or resettlement of
refugees and internally displaced persons from Ukraine;
(B) address humanitarian access challenges and
ensure the effective delivery of such assistance to
persons from Ukraine;
(C) increase efficiency, accountability, and
transparency in the administration of humanitarian aid
provided by the United States to persons from Ukraine;
(D) prevent corruption through the use of ``web3''
technologies;
(E) improve access to capital; and
(F) bolster the efficiency and reliability of
cross-border remittances.
(b) Form.--The report required under subsection (a) shall be
submitted in unclassified form and may include a classified annex.
(c) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on
Financial Services of the House of Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVENESS AND ENFORCEMENT OF SANCTIONS.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) on March 9, 2022, President Biden issued an Executive
Order outlining a national policy to mitigate the risks, and
harness the potential benefits of, digital assets and
distributed ledger technology;
(2) the growing development and adoption of digital assets
have created an urgent need for the United States to play a
leading role in the global financial system and facilitate
technological innovation;
(3) these developments have had significant implications
that pose risks to the financial stability and national
security interest of the United States, including issues
relating to privacy and surveillance;
(1) the United States Government must--
(A) ensure the efficacy and enforcement of the
United States' sanctions regime by preventing the
misuse of digital assets, which can facilitate
transactions by Russian persons subject to sanctions;
(B) mitigate national security liabilities and
systemic financial risks posed by the misuse of digital
assets by developing policy recommendations and
addressing existing regulatory gaps; and
(C) maintain technological leadership to promote
United States global competitiveness and play a leading
role in the global governance of digital assets.
(b) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury, in
consultation with the Secretary of State, shall submit a report
to the appropriate congressional committees that provides an
assessment on how digital currencies affect the effectiveness
and enforcement of United States sanctions against the Russian
Federation and actors subject to sanctions related to the
Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine.
(2) Matters to be included.--The report under paragraph (1)
shall--
(A) describe any efforts by the Russian Federation
or persons subject to sanctions related to the Russian
Federation's invasion of Ukraine to utilize digital
assets to evade the sanctions regimes of the United
States and its international allies and partners;
(B) describe any efforts by persons subject to
sanctions related to the Russian Federation's invasion
of Ukraine to use decentralized finance technology or
other similar technology to effect transactions,
including digital wallets, digital asset trading
platforms, and digital asset exchanges;
(C) assess how the use or adoption of digital
currencies could undermine the national security
interests of the United States and impact the efficacy
and enforcement of sanctions, , and the enforcement of
anti-money laundering provisions;
(D) detail actions taken by the United States
government to work with private sector actors to combat
the evasion of sanctions imposed by the United States;
and
(E) include recommendations for new legislative and
regulatory measures needed to strengthen the United
States Government's ability to prevent any states,
state-sponsored actors, and non-state-sponsored actors
from using digital currencies to evade sanctions
imposed by the United States Government.
(c) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives;
(2) the Committee on Financial Services of the House of
Representatives;
(3) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
(4) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of
the Senate.
(d) Report Form.--The report required under subsection (b) shall be
submitted in unclassified form with a classified annex, if necessary.
Passed the House of Representatives September 20, 2022.
Attest:
CHERYL L. JOHNSON,
Clerk.
By Kevin F. McCumber,
Deputy Clerk.