[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 623 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 623
Calling on the Secretary of State to designate the Russian Federation
as a state sponsor of terrorism.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 9, 2022
Mr. Graham (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr. Portman) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Relations
July 11, 2022
Reported by Mr. Menendez, with an amendment and an amendment to the
preamble
July 27, 2022
Considered, amended, and agreed to with an amended preamble
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Calling on the Secretary of State to designate the Russian Federation
as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Whereas, pursuant to section 1754(c) of the John S. McCain National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (50 U.S.C. 4813(c)), section 40
of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2779A), and section 620A of
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371), the authority to
designate a country as a state sponsor of terrorism rests with the
Secretary of State;
Whereas Cuba, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Iran, and Syria are
designated as state sponsors of terrorism;
Whereas, at the direction of President Vladimir Putin, the Government of the
Russian Federation has and continues to promote acts of international
terrorism against political opponents and nation states;
Whereas, under the orders of President Putin, the Government of the Russian
Federation engaged in a campaign of terror, utilizing brutal force
targeting civilians during the Second Chechen War;
Whereas 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;
Whereas, since 2014, the Government of the Russian Federation has supported so-
called separatists engaging in acts of violence against Ukrainian
civilians in the Donbas region;
Whereas, since the entry of the Russian Federation into the Syrian Civil War in
2015, the Russian Federation has targeted innocent civilians in Syria
with attacks on civilian markets, medical facilities, and schools;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation provides material support to
Syria, a nation currently designated as a state sponsor of terrorism,
that has been used to target the Syrian people;
Whereas 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;
Whereas the Wagner Group relies on the support of the Russian Federation and the
Ministry of Defense to advance the foreign policy objectives of the
Russian Federation;
Whereas the Department of the Treasury identifies the Wagner Group as ``a
designated Russian Ministry of Defense proxy force'' and states that
``Wagner's activities in other countries, including Ukraine, Syria,
Sudan, and Libya, have generated insecurity and incited violence against
innocent civilians'';
Whereas it was reported in February 2022 that 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;
Whereas, on March 14, 2022, Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for
Security and Co-operation in Europe Zbigniew Rau stated that actions of
the Government of the Russian Federation in Ukraine against innocent
civilians and civilian infrastructure is ``state terrorism'';
Whereas, on March 17, 2022, President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the world to
acknowledge the Russian Federation as a terrorist state;
Whereas 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'';
Whereas, at the direction of President Putin, the Russian Federation has
directed and authorized the indiscriminate targeting of civilian centers
within Chechnya, Georgia, Syria, and Ukraine, resulting in the deaths of
countless innocent men, women, and children; and
Whereas armed forces of the Russian Federation have committed numerous summary
executions against innocent civilians and have attempted to cover their
atrocities with mass graves across Ukraine: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved,
SECTION 1. SENSE OF THE SENATE.
The Senate--
(1) views the actions of the Government of the Russian
Federation, at the direction of President Vladimir Putin, as
sponsoring acts of terrorism; and
(2) calls on the Secretary of State to designate the
Russian Federation as a state sponsor of terrorism.
SEC. 2. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this resolution shall be construed as authorizing the
use of military force or the introduction of United States forces into
hostilities.
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