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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5370 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

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.
                                 <all>
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