[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4848 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4848
To provide for the designation of the Russian Federation as a state
sponsor of terrorism.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 14, 2022
Mr. Graham (for himself and Mr. Blumenthal) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign
Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the designation of the Russian Federation as a state
sponsor of terrorism.
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 is a State Sponsor of
Terrorism Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) United States law authorizes the designation of
countries that have repeatedly provided support for acts of
international terrorism as state sponsors of terrorism.
(2) Cuba, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Iran,
and Syria have been designated as state sponsors of terrorism.
(3) At the direction of President Vladimir Putin, the
Government of the Russian Federation has promoted, and
continues to promote, acts of international terrorism against
political opponents and nation states.
(4) Under the orders of President Putin, the Government of
the Russian Federation engaged in a campaign of terror that
utilized brutal force to target its civilians during the Second
Chechen War.
(5) Actions by the Government of the Russian Federation
against civilian centers, such as Grozny (the capital of
Chechnya), left countless innocent men, women, and children
dead or wounded.
(6) Since 2014, the Government of the Russian Federation--
(A) has supported separatists engaging in acts of
violence against Ukrainian civilians in the Donbas
region; and
(B) has detained United States citizens as
hostages.
(7) The Government of the Russian Federation provides
material support to Syria, a nation currently designated as a
state sponsor of terrorism.
(8) According to the Congressional Research Service, the
Russian Federation spreads terror throughout the world through
private military networks of mercenaries, such as the Wagner
Group, in an effort to ``project power cheaply and deniably''.
(9) The Wagner Group collaborates with the Ministry of
Defense of the Russian Federation to support the foreign policy
objectives of the Russian Federation.
(10) The Department of the Treasury--
(A) has identified the Wagner Group as ``a
designated Russian Ministry of Defense proxy force'';
and
(B) has stated that ``Wagner's activities in other
countries, including Ukraine, Syria, Sudan, and Libya,
have generated insecurity and incited violence against
innocent civilians''.
(11) In February 2022, more than 400 Russian mercenaries
from the Wagner Group were dispatched to Kyiv with orders from
the Kremlin to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky and
members of the Government of Ukraine.
(12) On March 1, 2022, Jason Blazakis, former Director of
the Counterterrorism Finance and Designations Office, Bureau of
Counterterrorism, Department of State, wrote in reference to
white supremacist groups that ``Russia provides sanctuary to a
U.S.-designated terrorist group, the Russian Imperial Movement,
which operates with impunity in Russian territory.''.
(13) On March 17, 2022, President Volodymyr Zelensky called
for the world to acknowledge the Russian Federation as a
terrorist state.
(14) The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has appealed to Congress
to encourage the Department of State to recognize the Russian
Federation as a state sponsor of terrorism, noting that ``the
Russian Federation has for years supported and financed
terrorist regimes and terrorist organizations, including being
the main supplier of weapons to the Assad regime in Syria and
supporting terrorists in the Middle East and Latin America,
organizing acts of international terrorism, including the
poisoning of the Skripal family in the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland, the downing of a civilian
Malaysian airliner and other acts of terrorism''.
(15) On May 24, 2022, Ukrainian prosecutors accused 2
Wagner Group mercenaries of committing war crimes against
civilians near Kyiv.
(16) On July 18, 2022, the United Kingdom's Ministry of
Defence confirmed that the Wagner Group plays a central role in
recent fighting in Ukraine, including Russia's capture of
Popasna and Lysyschansk.
(17) The United States has a range of tools available to
hold the Russian Federation accountable, reduce its war
machine, and isolate it economically and diplomatically,
including by designating it as a state sponsor of terrorism and
imposing corresponding sanctions.
SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION AS A STATE SPONSOR OF
TERRORISM.
(a) In General.--Beginning on the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Russian Federation shall be deemed to have repeatedly provided
support for acts of international terrorism and shall be designated as
a state sponsor of terrorism pursuant to--
(1) section 1754(c)(1)(A)(i) of the Export Control Reform
Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4813(c)(1)(A)(i));
(2) section 620A(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
(22 U.S.C. 2371(a));
(3) section 40(d) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C.
2780(d)); and
(4) any other relevant provision of law.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--Section 1605A(h)(6) of
title 28, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by inserting ``Congress or'' before ``the Secretary of
State''; and
(2) by striking ``section 6(j) of the Export Administration
Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2405(j)),''.
SEC. 4. WAIVER.
The President may remove the designation required under section
3(a) on the date that is 30 days after the date on which the President
certifies to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, the
majority leader and minority leader of the Senate, and the Speaker,
majority leader, and minority leader of the House of Representatives
that--
(1) the Russian Federation is no longer supporting acts of
international terrorism; and
(2) removing such designation is in the national security
interests of the United States.
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