IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 631 

Directing the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Oversight 

and Government Reform, and the Committee on Financial Services to 

begin investigations regarding certain business dealings of Robert Hunter 

Biden during the period in which Joseph R. Biden, Jr. served as Vice 

President of the United States; whether those business dealings resulted 

in improper conflicts of interests; and whether Robert Hunter Biden’s 

work affected United States foreign policy or a foreign government or 

foreign entity’s response thereto. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 15, 2019 

Mr. BYRNE (for himself, Mr. BUDD, Mr. GIBBS, Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania, 

Mr. HICE of Georgia, Mr. ROUZER, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. HARRIS, and Mr. 

GAETZ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Rules 

RESOLUTION 

Directing the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee 

on Oversight and Government Reform, and the Committee on Financial Services to begin investigations regarding certain business dealings of Robert Hunter 

Biden during the period in which Joseph R. Biden, Jr. 

served as Vice President of the United States; whether 

those business dealings resulted in improper conflicts 

of interests; and whether Robert Hunter Biden’s work 

affected United States foreign policy or a foreign government or foreign entity’s response thereto. 


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•HRES 631 IH 

Whereas, from 2009 to 2017, Joseph R. Biden, Jr. served as 

Vice President of the United States of America; 

Whereas since at least 2001, Robert Hunter Biden, the son 

of Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., had engaged in 

work as a registered Federal lobbyist; 

Whereas immediately following the election of Joseph R. 

Biden, Jr. to the office of Vice President, press reports 

indicate that Robert Hunter Biden joined with Christopher Heinz, the stepson of then Senate Foreign Affairs 

Committee Chairman John Kerry, and Devon Archer, a 

close Kerry family confidant, to form a network of investment and consulting firms with variations of the name 

‘‘Rosemont Seneca’’; 

Whereas press reports indicate that Rosemont Seneca pursued multiple, foreign business investments ‘‘where connections implied political influence and protection’’; 

Whereas during the period in which Joseph R. Biden, Jr. 

served as Vice President, the People’s Republic of China 

was a significant concern of United States foreign policy, 

including that country seeking to define its relationship 

with the United States in light of the so-called Obama 

Administration ‘‘Pivot to Asia’’; 

Whereas press reports indicate during this period, entities associated with Robert Hunter Biden and Rosemont Seneca 

engaged in multiple business transactions requiring highlevel connections in the People’s Republic of China; 

Whereas, in December of 2013, Robert Hunter Biden accompanied Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on Air Force 

II on an official visit to the People’s Republic of China; 

Whereas press reports indicate that at the same time Robert 

Hunter Biden accompanied Joseph R. Biden, Jr. to the 


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•HRES 631 IH 

People’s Republic of China, ‘‘Rosemont Seneca Partners’’ 

was finalizing the formation of a private investment fund, 

BHR Partners, which was financially supported by the 

Bank of China, China Development Bank Capital, and 

other major Chinese financial institutions controlled by, 

owned by, or associated with the government of the People’s Republic of China; 

Whereas Robert Hunter Biden’s whereabouts during large 

portions of this official visit are largely unknown but, by 

his admission, did include at least one meeting with a 

Chinese banker who was a partner in BHR Partners; 

Whereas press reports indicate that within 10 days of Robert 

Hunter Biden’s official trip to China, Rosemont Seneca 

Partners received necessary Chinese licenses and closed 

the deal creating BHR Partners; 

Whereas during the period in which Joseph R. Biden, Jr. 

served as Vice President, Ukraine was a significant concern of United States foreign policy, receiving substantial 

attention from the Obama Administration; 

Whereas, in 2014, the Obama Administration was actively 

engaged in the support of the Yatsenyuk government of 

Ukraine following the aftermath of the Ukrainian revolution and Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. was described as ‘‘at the forefront’’ of those efforts; 

Whereas, in April of 2014, Vice President Joseph R. Biden, 

Jr. specifically traveled to Ukraine as an official envoy of 

the Obama Administration and urged the Ukraine government to reduce its dependence on Russia for supplies 

of natural gas and, according to press, reports offered 

United States help in providing expertise on expanding 

Ukraine’s domestic natural gas production; 


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•HRES 631 IH 

Whereas Burisma Holdings is the largest natural gas production company in Ukraine and was positioned to greatly 

benefit from United States policy pursued by Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.; 

Whereas Burisma Holdings and its owner, oligarch Mykola 

Zlochevsky, have long faced allegations of corruption and 

illegal activities; 

Whereas, in April of 2014, the same month that Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. traveled to Ukraine, Robert 

Hunter Biden, joined the board of Burisma Holdings; 

Whereas press reports indicate that Burisma Holdings paid 

more than $3,400,000 to ‘‘Rosemont Seneca Bohai LLC’’ 

and that Robert Hunter Biden personally received compensation of up to $50,000 per month in his role relating 

to Burisma Holdings, despite having little to no experience that would be relevant in the natural gas industry; 

Whereas press reports indicate that Robert Hunter Biden’s 

work with Burisma Holdings allowed ‘‘Burisma to create 

the perception that it was backed by powerful Americans 

at a time when Ukraine was especially dependent on aid 

and strategic backing from the United States and its allies’’; 

Whereas press reports indicate that Robert Hunter Biden’s 

work for Burisma Holdings during the period when Vice 

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. was actively working on 

Ukrainian natural gas policy prompted concerns from 

State Department and other Obama Administration officials and that such concerns were communicated to Vice 

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.; 


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•HRES 631 IH 

Whereas the Prosecutor General of Ukraine’s duty under the 

Ukrainian political system is among other things to prosecute on behalf of the state; 

Whereas it appears that the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s 

office had been investigating Burisma Holdings and Mr. 

Zlochevsky in 2014; 

Whereas, in 2014, facing criminal allegations of misconduct 

by the Ukrainian Prosecutor General, press reports indicate that Mr. Zlochevsky fled Ukraine; 

Whereas by his own account, in 2016 Vice President Joseph 

R. Biden, Jr. threatened Ukrainian President Petro 

Poroshenko that the United States would withhold 

$1,000,000,000 in United States loan guarantees if he 

did not immediately fire Prosecutor General Viktor 

Shokin; 

Whereas given the fragile state of the Ukrainian economy, 

withholding of United States assistance likely would have 

sent Ukraine into insolvency; 

Whereas by Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.’s own account, based upon pressure applied by him, Shokin was 

fired; 

Whereas the firing of Prosecutor General Shokin could have 

affected investigations into Burisma Holdings; 

Whereas Mr. Shokin has allegedly sworn under affidavit that 

‘‘I was forced out because I was leading a wide-ranging 

corruption probe into Burisma Holdings, a natural gas 

firm active in Ukraine and [Vice President] Jo[seph] 

Biden’s son, [Robert] Hunter Biden, was a member of 

the Board of Directors’’; 

Whereas press reports indicate that Robert Hunter Biden’s 

business partners brought in Blue Star Strategies, a conVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 Oct 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR631.IH HR631

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•HRES 631 IH 

sulting firm run by Clinton administration officials, to 

help fend off Ukrainian investigations of Burisma Holdings; 

Whereas press reports indicate a team from Blue Star Strategies and a former Obama Justice Department lawyer 

held undisclosed meetings with Mr. Shokin’s successor, 

Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko, in May of 2016, 

shortly after he took office to replace Mr. Shokin; 

Whereas within 10 months of Mr. Lutsenko’s taking office, 

Burisma Holdings reported that all legal proceedings and 

pending criminal allegations against Burisma Holdings 

and Mr. Zlochevsky had been closed; 

Whereas significant business dealings of Robert Hunter 

Biden and Rosemont Seneca during the period in which 

Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. served as Vice President likely remain unknown; and 

Whereas known allegations relating to Robert Hunter Biden’s 

work with Rosemont Seneca entities during a time when 

Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. was actively engaged 

in foreign policy decisions of the United States raises serious concerns regarding conflicts of interest and potential influence on United States foreign policy: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, that the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

2 Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and the 

3 Committee on Financial Services are directed to begin im4 mediate investigations, within the bounds of their respec5 tive jurisdictions, into— 

6 (1) whether Robert Hunter Biden’s business 

7 dealings relating to Rosemont Seneca were ethical 


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•HRES 631 IH 

1 and proper given Vice President Joseph R. Biden, 

2 Jr.’s role in the foreign policy of the United States 

3 of America; 

4 (2) whether Robert Hunter Biden’s business 

5 dealings relating to Rosemont Seneca resulted in im6 proper conflicts of interests for Vice President Jo7 seph R. Biden, Jr; and 

8 (3) whether Robert Hunter Biden’s business 

9 dealings relating to Rosemont Seneca affected 

10 United States foreign policy or a foreign government 

11 or foreign entity’s response thereto. 

Æ 


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