[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5370 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5370
To declare the Russian Federation an Aggressor State and provide for
the transfer of blocked assets of such country to the United States to
be used for the reconstruction of Ukraine, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 8, 2023
Mr. Hill introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To declare the Russian Federation an Aggressor State and provide for
the transfer of blocked assets of such country to the United States to
be used for the reconstruction of Ukraine, 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 ``Ukraine Reconstruction Act of
2023''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Russian Federation, aided and abetted by Belarus,
has engaged in egregious and illegal behavior by invading
Ukraine in violation of established norms of international law
and the United Nations Charter.
(2) As recognized by the General Assembly of the United
Nations, the Group of Seven, the North Atlantic Parliamentary
Assembly, and customary international law, the Russian
Federation, joined by Belarus, has committed, and continues to
commit, violations of international law and the United Nations
Charter through its acts of aggression against the civil
society of Ukraine, its violation of the civil rights of the
Ukrainian peoples, and its unlawful destruction of Ukraine's
infrastructure and agriculture.
(3) These actions by the Russian Federation and Belarus
constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national
security and foreign policy of the United States and to the
civilized world.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS OF AGGRESSOR STATE AND AFFILIATED AGGRESSOR STATE.
(a) Aggressor State.--The President shall designate the Russian
Federation as an ``Aggressor State'' for purposes of this Act because
of its violations of international law and the United Nations Charter
with respect to Ukraine.
(b) Affiliated Aggressor State.--The President shall designate
Belarus as an ``Affiliated Aggressor State'' for purposes of this Act
and each other state the Government of which the President determines
is providing material assistance to an Aggressor State.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND FOR RECONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES.
As a consequence of the unwarranted and illegal actions of the
Aggressor State against Ukraine beginning in 2014, the President
shall--
(1) exercise all powers granted to the President by the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et
seq.) to the extent necessary to block and prohibit all
transactions in property and interests in sovereign property of
the Aggressor State, including any property owned by state-
owned enterprises of such Aggressor State, if such property and
interests in property are in the United States, come within the
United States, or are or come within the possession or control
of a United States person (except that the authority provided
by this paragraph shall not include the authority to block any
property subject to Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on
Diplomatic Relations);
(2) acting through the Secretary of the Treasury--
(A) order the transfer of all assets blocked
pursuant to paragraph (1) into such accounts as the
Secretary of the Treasury determines appropriate to
carry out the purposes of this Act;
(B) transfer title to blocked assets from the
Aggressor State to the United States and subsequently
transfer such assets to such accounts as the Secretary
of Treasury may determine appropriate for such
purposes;
(C) establish an international fund to hold assets
donated by the United States and by other countries
implementing similar sanctions with respect to the
Aggressor State, to be used for the reconstruction of
Ukraine; and
(D) transfer assets described in subparagraph (A)
and (B) to the international fund in such amounts and
at such times as the Secretary of the Treasury, in
consultation with the Secretary of State, may direct;
(3) acting through the Secretary of State--
(A) work in cooperation with other foreign
countries to establish an international compensation
tribunal to adjudicate, in accordance with established
judicial norms and international accounting principles,
claims presented by Ukraine on behalf of its
individuals, entities, and governmental entities, or
directly by Ukrainian individuals and entities, against
the Aggressor State and Affiliated Aggressor States;
and
(B) take such steps, in cooperation with other
foreign countries, as may be necessary to--
(i) ensure that such tribunal is staffed,
operated, and administered in accordance with
established legal and accounting rules and
governance procedures;
(ii) make available amounts from the fund
described in paragraph (2)(C) for the payment
of reasonable expenses for the governance and
operation of the tribunal and awards made by
the tribunal;
(iii) verify that the tribunal is operated
transparently with respect to all awards or
other fund transfers, filings, and decisions;
and
(iv) ensure that such tribunal is audited
on a regular basis by an independent auditor,
in accordance with standards set by the United
States Financial Accounting Standards Board and
International Accounting Standards Board, with
the results of such audits made publicly
available; and
(4) in the case that an appropriate tribunal described in
paragraph (3) is not timely established--
(A) in consultation with the Secretary of the
Treasury, establish a United States Fund for the
Reconstruction of Ukraine;
(B) transfer to such Fund assets of the Aggressor
State blocked in accordance with paragraph (2)(B); and
(C) in consultation with the Secretary of State,
distribute these funds for the reconstruction of
Ukraine in accordance with established practices and
accounting procedures.
SEC. 5. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO AFFILIATED AGGRESSOR
STATES.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
President is authorized to exercise all powers granted to the President
by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et
seq.) and this Act over the sovereign property of any Affiliated
Aggressor State, including any property owned by state-owned
enterprises of such Affiliated Aggressor State, if such property and
interests in property are in the United States, come within the United
States, or are or come within the possession or control of a United
States person.
(b) Authorization To Transfer Into Fund.--The President is
authorized to transfer and otherwise treat any asset of an Affiliated
Aggressor State blocked pursuant to the authority provided by
subsection (a) in the same manner as assets of the Aggressor State
blocked pursuant to section 4(1) are treated as provided for in section
4(2) and section 4(4).
(c) Exception.--The authority provided by this section shall not
include the authority to block any property subject to Article 22 of
the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
SEC. 6. REPORTS.
(a) Audit of Reconstruction Funds.--The Comptroller General shall
regularly review and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress
reports, which shall also be made publicly available, on--
(1) the audits described in section 4(3)(B)(iv); or
(2) if the tribunal referred to in such section is not
timely established, the results of regular audits on all
amounts distributed pursuant to section 4(4)(C).
(b) Joint Report on Activities.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, the
Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury shall jointly
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on all
activities taken pursuant to this Act.
(c) Appropriate Committees of Congress.--In this section, the term
``appropriate committees of Congress'' 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. 7. ASSETS FREE FROM ATTACHMENT.
Any and all assets subject to this Act shall be free from
attachment in any civil action.
SEC. 8. NO CAUSES OF ACTION AGAINST THE UNITED STATES.
The President's actions, and any actions by those to whom the
President has delegated authority under this Act, do not create any
right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in
equity by any party, including the Russian Federation, the Republic of
Belarus, and any other country designated under this Act, against the
United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers,
employees, or agents, or any other person.
SEC. 9. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.
The authorities granted by this Act do not abrogate, displace, or
otherwise modify any and all applicable authorities which other
provisions of law, including the International Emergency Economic
Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) may grant the President with
respect to the assets of Aggressor States or Affiliated Aggressor
States designated in accordance with this Act.
SEC. 10. SUNSET.
This Act and the authorities provided by this Act shall expire at
midnight on December 31, 2030, except that such authorities may remain
available to the extent necessary to ensure that all operations carried
out under this Act are wound down in an orderly manner.
SEC. 11. STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISE DEFINED.
In this Act, the term ``state-owned enterprise'' with respect to a
country means an entity--
(1) organized under the laws of the country or any
jurisdiction within the country; and
(2) over which the government of the country exercises
ownership, either by virtue of the government being the
ultimate beneficial owner of the majority of voting shares or
otherwise exercising an equivalent degree of control over the
activities of the entity.
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