Asset Seizure for Ukraine Reconstruction Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6089) to clarify that section 107 of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act applies sanctions with respect to unmanned combat aerial vehicles following a 2019 change by the United Nations providing additional clarity to the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 6089.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6089, the Stop Iranian Drones Act, which was introduced by Ranking Member McCaul and Chairman Meeks, along with Congressmen Deutch and Wilson, chair and ranking member of the Middle East, North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism Subcommittee.

As we have seen in recent months, Iran and Iranian-aligned terrorists and militia groups have been growing increasingly aggressive with their drone attacks throughout the Middle East--targeting U.S. troops, commercial vessels, partner countries, and more.

Not long ago, an Iranian-sponsored militia in Yemen utilized drones to cause death and destruction in the UAE, hundreds of miles away. Similarly, Saudi Arabia has faced repeated drone attacks on its civilian areas and its critical infrastructure.

This bill clarifies that existing conventional weapons sanctions against Iran include unmanned combat aerial vehicles and brings U.S. code up to date with the United Nation's categories of major conventional arms.

By doing this, this bill will allow the United States to better respond to the threat posed by Iran and its proxies' aggressive UAV tactics with respect to the United States and its partners.

This is not a new sanction, but rather a clarification of current law. It will in no way interfere with the ongoing nuclear talks. We have confirmed this with the State Department.

The Biden administration is taking this threat seriously. They have sanctioned the top Iranian military official for his role in the July attack on a commercial shipping vessel in the Gulf of Oman, in addition to blacklisting a network of individuals and companies behind Iran's UAV program.

But we can do more, and we need our allies to do more as well. The clarification included in this legislation will help show the international community that Iranian UAV proliferation will not be tolerated by this government or this Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I ask for full support of this House in passing this legislation so we can move it one step closer to the President's desk, and I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on the Judiciary,

Washington, DC, April 21, 2022.

Hon. Gregory Meeks,

Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Meeks: This letter is to advise you that the

Committee on the Judiciary has now had an opportunity to

review the provisions in H.R. 6089, the ``Stop Iranian Drones

Act,'' that fall within our Rule X jurisdiction. I appreciate

your consulting with us on those provisions. The Judiciary

Committee has no objection to your including them in the bill

for consideration on the House floor, and to expedite that

consideration is willing to forgo action on H.R. 6089, with

the understanding that we do not thereby waive any future

jurisdictional claim over those provisions or their subject

matters.

In the event a House-Senate conference on this or similar

legislation is convened, the Judiciary Committee reserves the

right to request an appropriate number of conferees to

address any concerns with these or similar provisions that

may arise in conference.

Please place this letter into the Congressional Record

during consideration of the measure on the House floor. Thank

you for the cooperative spirit in which you have worked

regarding this matter and others between our committees.

Sincerely,

Jerrold Nadler,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Malinowski) who serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, I think this is an important piece of legislation in trying to contain the malign activities of the Iranian Government especially in a critical region, critical to us and critical to the world.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6089, the Stop Iranian Drones Act, and to speak favorably about all of the important legislation the House is moving today to address Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine.

The Stop Iranian Drones Act codifies crucial language that ensures we can impose sanctions on Iranian drones under current laws. Sanctions are a very powerful tool, as we have seen in the last 2 months as we have imposed powerful sanctions on Russia since its invasion, but I think we need to go further, and my bill, H.R. 6930, the Asset Seizure for Ukrainian Reconstruction Act, gives us the tools to do just that.

Let me say a few words about it.

In the last few weeks, we have seen across the United States, Europe, and the world the seizure of yachts, villas, and banks accounts belonging to Russian oligarchs who have supported the cruel regime of Vladimir Putin. Recently, with the help of the FBI, a $90-

million yacht was seized in Europe. Ninety million dollars is actually pretty cheap for a Russian oligarch's yacht. Some of these boats run up to $600 million. Up to $300 billion of Russian Central Bank assets have been seized or frozen by the United States and our allies.

All these actions raise a very important question. Think about the destruction in Ukraine, the thousands of people who have been killed, the atrocities, and the bodies of men and women left in the streets as Russian soldiers and occupiers are expelled by the brave Ukrainian defenders.

Can we imagine if there is, for example, a cease-fire that puts the immediate violence to rest--we hope that happens--but can we imagine at that moment giving all of this wealth, all of Russia's wealth, the yachts, the bank accounts, the villas, and the planes back to Putin and his cronies as Ukraine lies in ruin and as the Ukrainians bury their dead?

I think the answer is no. We cannot imagine doing that. We will not do that. I don't believe that the Biden administration intends to do that. But the law here is very complicated. These assets are not actually seized. They are merely frozen and blocked.

So this legislation--which I urge all of my colleagues to support today, a bipartisan bill--asks the administration to come up with a mechanism that would enable us to take this wealth and to sell it, to dispose of it, and to use the proceeds to help the people and Government of Ukraine rebuild their country.

Yes, it is complicated. If we apply our American legal constructs to these men and women who have served Putin loyally all these years, it looks like they are the owners of these assets. One of them owns the Chelsea football team in Great Britain. Some own property in the United States. But, in fact, Mr. Speaker, if you understand how Russia works, then you understand that the true owner of all of these assets is one man. It is Putin. These are pooled assets. He can use them whenever he wants.

So I believe it is fitting that we should pass legislation encouraging the administration to use the wealth that has supported this cruel regime to help to rebuild the country that the Putin regime is destroying.

It is the right thing to do, and it is the practical thing to do because this reconstruction effort will, in fact, cost up to hundreds of billions of dollars. We should not be saddled with the full cost of that. Let's use Russia's money to rebuild Ukraine.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Sadly, on February 24, war criminal Putin launched an unprovoked, unjustified murderous war of aggression against the people of Ukraine.

The humanitarian toll has been devastating. More than 5 million refugees have fled Ukraine. More than 7 million are believed to be internally displaced, and we have seen on our screens the heart- wrenching images of Putin's horrific war crimes in Bucha, Mariupol, and elsewhere.

The economic toll for Ukraine is no less devastating. The World Bank has forecasted that Ukraine's economy could contract by 45 percent this year with a worst-case scenario seeing its GDP shrink by 75 percent.

The Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said last week during a visit to Washington, that Ukraine would need around $5 billion a month in budgetary support as long as the war continued and then roughly $600 billion for a broader rebuilding effort.

To rebuild this country, the Ukrainian Prime Minister requested not only additional financial support from the United States and its allies and partners, but also the transfer of Russian assets that have been frozen by the global sanctions regime to Ukraine.

The U.S. must answer this call.

The resolution we are considering urges the President to establish an interagency working group to determine the constitutional mechanisms through which the United States could not only freeze but seize the assets of Russian oligarchs within the United States if this property was derived through corruption linked to the Putin regime.

The liquidated funds are to be repurposed for the benefit of the people of Ukraine, including post-conflict reconstruction when the Ukrainians win, humanitarian assistance, and assistance for the security forces of the Government of Ukraine.

I was grateful to colead this legislation with our colleague, Tom Malinowski of New Jersey. Thanks to an amendment from our colleague, Peter Meijer, the bill also urges the administration to expand sanctions on members of the Russian Parliament, the duma, who voted in support of recognizing the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republic, which are illegal fabrications. This vote served as part of Putin's pretext to Russia's unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against the people of Ukraine. Anyone who supported that vote must fall under U.S. sanctions--full stop. The administration needs to seriously consider how we can use the frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine fight and continue winning, then rebuild its country. Therefore, I urge all colleagues to join me in supporting this important bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Meijer).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, rather than financing war crimes in Ukraine and multimillion-dollar yachts and real estate for Putin's cronies, this money could be much better spent on urgently needed humanitarian aid and weapons for Ukraine.

This makes sense for the people of Ukraine as well as for the American taxpayer. I, therefore, urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Iran and its proxies continue to threaten U.S. troops and our partners throughout the Middle East with drones. Iran-backed militia groups attacked U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria with UAVs throughout 2021. Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia doubled over the first 9 months of 2021 compared to 2020, which included frequent UAV assaults.

Where do the Houthis get most of their dangerous UAV technology? Iran.

And Iran continues to use UAVs to threaten Israel, including in its deadly attack on an Israeli-owned tanker last summer. This is exactly why I am opposed to striking another bad nuclear deal with Iran that would line the regime's pockets with cash. We need to be constraining Iran's resources, not filling its coffers. The more money Iran has, the more it will spend on threats to the U.S. and our partners. Period.

This situation is intolerable. The people of the Middle East, including Americans living there, cannot live in freedom, stability, or prosperity under assault by Iran's drones. We have to limit Iran's ability to build and supply drones.

This crucial legislation will take the necessary steps to help reduce the threats of Iranian drones. It clarifies that our existing sanctions on Iran's conventional weapons program include the supply, sale, or transfer to or from Iran of combat UAVs. And it codifies that it is U.S. policy to prevent Iran and its proxies from acquiring UAVs that can be used in attacks against the U.S. and our partners.

With this legislation, Congress is telling the world that the U.S. will use every tool to cut off Iran's UAV supplies and that we will punish those who continue to supply Iran with UAVs and parts despite their destructive impact.

Iran has long demonstrated its commitment to destabilizing the Middle East with its malign activities, but we are committed to countering Iran's attacks and keeping our partners safe. We will continue to adapt to this UAV threat. That includes robust sanctions enforcement against Iran's UAV program and proliferation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers.

In closing, Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism that oppresses its own people and poses a grave threat to the U.S. and our allies in the Middle East, and the Iranian regime is using drones to expand that threat. Just last month retiring CENTCOM Commander General McKenzie told Congress that he was very concerned about the remarkable growth in number and efficiency of Iran's UAV program and long-range drones. We have a responsibility to our men and women in uniform to do everything we can to counter Iran's dangerous UAVs.

I am pleased we are taking this step today to clarify our sanctions laws and make it clear that they cover Iran's drones.

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful that we can continue the long history of bipartisan cooperation to respond to Iran's threats, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6930 the Asset Seizure for Ukraine Reconstruction Act, which authorizes the President to, subject to certain conditions, seize assets belonging to a foreign person whose wealth is derived in part through political support for or corruption linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In the two years that follow this bill's enactment, the President may seize assets if Russia remains engaged in a conflict of territorial conquest in Ukraine; the President has imposed sanctions on the owner of the assets for reasons related to corruption, human rights violations, malign influence, or conflicts in Ukraine; and the assets are valued at over $5 million.

The seized assets may be liquidated, and the resulting funds may only be used for specified purposes, including the post-conflict reconstruction of Ukraine, humanitarian assistance and refugee support for the Ukrainian people, weapons for Ukraine's uniformed military forces, and humanitarian and development assistance for the Russian people.

There is no question of whether the Russian Federation, under the direction of Vladimir Putin, has been defying the laws of war throughout their unprovoked, unjust, and unlawful invasion of Ukraine.

In the three decades since gaining independence, Ukraine has sought closer economic, social, and political ties with the free market and democratic nations of the West.

Since 2013, the Russian Federation has imposed a campaign of political, economic, and military aggression in Ukraine.

Today the world is witnessing a manufactured war, arbitrarily ordered by Vladimir Putin.

President Putin and his associates must be held personally liable for the war crimes committed against the people of Ukraine.

Russia claims it is not attacking civilians, yet thousands of people have been killed, mostly from explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes.

Families are being separated by war, adults and children are being ruthlessly killed, and a rogue Russia is violently crushing political speech opposing the war from its own citizens.

As Russian ground forces advance in Ukraine, Ukrainians are sheltering from artillery and cruise missiles in subways and bomb shelters.

The western world must continue to march in unison against this senseless Russian invasion of a sovereign nation.

It is our duty to do all we can to stop these brutal attacks on democracy. Squeezing the bank accounts and assets of Russian oligarchs will eventually force them to take matter into their own hands and stop Putin.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6930 the Asset Seizure for Ukraine Reconstruction Act to help put an end to Putin's evil invasion.