IV 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 348 

Supporting the right of the people of Ukraine to freely elect their government 

and determine their future. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 7, 2015 

Mr. CICILLINE (for himself, Mr. SIRES, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. 

DEUTCH, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, 

Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Ms. 

SLAUGHTER, Ms. FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. MARINO, Mr. RIBBLE, Mr. 

CONNOLLY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. KINZINGER of Illinois, 

Mrs. ELLMERS of North Carolina, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, Mr. 

ROKITA, Mr. REED, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. POE

of Texas, Mr. YOHO, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. BASS, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. KEATING, Ms. KAPTUR, and 

Mr. CARNEY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the right of the people of Ukraine to freely elect 

their government and determine their future. 

Whereas a pro-democratic reform government emerged in 

Ukraine after then-President Viktor Yanukovych signed 

an agreement on February 21, 2014, transferring power 

to the opposition and then fled the country; 

Whereas following the resignation of President Yanukovych, 

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the forcible 


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•HRES 348 IH 

and illegal occupation of the Crimean region of Ukraine 

in March 2014; 

Whereas Russian-led separatists have forcibly seized large 

areas of Ukraine and continue their attacks on Ukrainian 

forces; 

Whereas the Russian Federation has continued to engage in 

relentless political, economic, and military aggression to 

subvert the independence and violate the territorial integrity of Ukraine; 

Whereas the United States has supported the democratically 

elected Government of Ukraine, as it represents the will 

of the people of Ukraine, and Congress has passed multiple pieces of legislation to provide support to Ukraine; 

Whereas Congress passed the Sovereignty, Integrity, Democracy, and Economic Stability of Ukraine Act of 2014 

(Public Law 113–95), which authorized loan guarantees 

for the Government of Ukraine; 

Whereas Congress passed the Ukraine Freedom Support Act 

of 2014 (Public Law 113–272), which authorized the Administration to provide the Ukrainian Government with 

support to facilitate necessary reforms, and stated that it 

is U.S. policy to assist the Government of Ukraine in restoring its sovereignty and territorial integrity; 

Whereas in September 2014, a cease-fire agreement was brokered between the Government of Ukraine, Russian officials, and Russian-led insurgents, but fighting has continued and the agreement was never fully implemented; 

Whereas in February 2015, Ukraine, Russia, and Russian-led 

insurgents agreed to an additional cease-fire, known as 

the Minsk Implementation Agreement or Minsk 2; 


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•HRES 348 IH 

Whereas pursuant to the Minsk agreements, local elections 

are to be held by the end of 2015 in regions controlled 

by Russian-led insurgents and legal and constitutional reforms are to be negotiated to give a special status to the 

region; 

Whereas the United States continues to receive reports of extensive violations by Russia and Russian-led forces in the 

eastern region of Ukraine; 

Whereas the United States has assisted in many elections 

around the world, including Ukraine’s Presidential election in May 25, 2014, to ensure that international election standards are upheld; 

Whereas early parliamentary elections were held on October 

26, 2014, but 29 of the 450 seats in parliament were not 

filled due to the inability to hold elections in districts 

controlled by separatists; 

Whereas, despite the disenfranchisement of people living in 

separatist-controlled regions, international election observers declared the parliamentary elections to have met 

international standards; 

Whereas Ukraine and Russia are members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and party 

to its commitments, including the 1990 Copenhagen Document which states that member states ‘‘will respect each 

other’s right freely to choose and develop, in accordance 

with international human rights standards, their political, 

social, economic and cultural systems’’ and that ‘‘free 

elections that will be held at reasonable intervals by secret ballot or by equivalent free voting procedure, under 

conditions which ensure in practice the free expression of 


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•HRES 348 IH 

the opinion of the electors in the choice of their representatives’’; 

Whereas the next local elections are scheduled to take place 

in Ukraine on October 25, 2015; 

Whereas these elections are critical to continued legislative 

and constitutional reform in Ukraine; and 

Whereas the United States is supporting efforts to promote 

citizen engagement in the constitutional reform process, 

educating voters, and election monitoring: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) strongly supports the right of the people of 

3 Ukraine to freely elect their government and deter4 mine their future; 

5 (2) urges the Administration to expedite assist6 ance to Ukraine to facilitate the political, economic, 

7 and social reforms necessary for free and fair elec8 tions that meet international standards; and 

9 (3) condemns attempts on the part of any out10 side forces, including the Government of Russia, its 

11 agents or supporters, to interfere in Ukraine’s elec12 tions, including through interference, intimidation, 

13 violence, or coercion. 

Æ 


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