To require congressional notification prior to payments of Department of State rewards using cryptocurrencies, and for other purposes.
Bill: H.R.7338 | Sponsor: Rep. Meeks, Gregory W. (D-NY)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Russia Cryptocurrency Transparency Act
This bill requires the Department of State to notify Congress before paying out a reward in cryptocurrency under an existing program that authorizes rewards for information leading to the arrest or conviction of parties responsible for certain criminal acts. (Current law allows such rewards to consist of money, nonmonetary items, or both.)

The State Department must also report to Congress on any cryptocurrency payments made under the rewards program, including an explanation of why a reward was made using cryptocurrency.
The bill also requires the State Department to report to Congress on the most effective avenues to provide aid to Ukraine, including possible uses of cryptocurrencies or other blockchain-related technologies. (Blockchain is a digital ledger technology that allows for transactions without a trusted intermediary, such as a bank.)
The Department of the Treasury must report to Congress an assessment of how digital currencies can affect the effectiveness and enforcement of U.S. sanctions relating to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

To require congressional notification prior to payments of Department 
    of State rewards using cryptocurrencies, 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 ``Russia Cryptocurrency Transparency 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) On February 24, 2022, the Government of the Russian 
        Federation, led by Vladimir Putin, launched an unprovoked, 
        full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
            (2) This unprovoked act of aggression violates Ukraine's 
        right to independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, 
        and constitutes an emergency in international relations.
            (3) The invasion by the Government of the Russian 
        Federation of Ukraine caused significant displacement in 
        Ukraine and triggered a broader humanitarian crisis in Europe.
            (4) On March 23, 2022, the Department of State released a 
        statement assessing that the Russian Armed Forces committed war 
        crimes by launching indiscriminate attacks on civilians and 
        non-military infrastructure, including apartment buildings, 
        schools, and hospitals, leaving thousands of innocent civilians 
        killed or wounded.
            (5) The United Nations Office for Coordination of 
        Humanitarian Affairs has projected that, over the next three 
        months, 12,000,000 people living in Ukraine will need 
        humanitarian assistance, 6,700,000 people will be internally 
        displaced, and 4,000,000 people will flee Ukraine.
            (6) Rapid humanitarian assistance is necessary 6 across 
        sectors to address the needs of refugees and internally 
        displaced persons from Ukraine.
            (7) Cryptocurrency has been used as an effective cross-
        border payment tool to send millions to the Ukrainian 
        Government, Ukrainian army, and Ukrainian refugees with limited 
        access to financial services.
            (8) In response to the war of aggression by the Government 
        of the Russian Federation, the United States has imposed an 
        array of sanctions, cutting off major Russian financial 
        institutions from Western markets and freezing the assets of 
        numerous Russian oligarchs.
            (9) Given that regimes sanctioned by the United States have 
        used cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions, there are increasing 
        concerns that these digital assets may be used to circumvent 
        the sanctions now imposed on Russia and Belarus by the United 
        States and other foreign countries.

SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATIONS FOR STATE DEPARTMENT CRYPTOCURRENCY 
              REWARDS.

    (a) Congressional Notification.--Subsection (e) of section 36 of 
the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2708) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(7) The Secretary of State shall notify the appropriate 
        congressional committees not later than 15 days before paying 
        out a reward in cryptocurrency.''.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the 
appropriate congressional committees a report on the use of 
cryptocurrency as a part of the Department of State Rewards program 
that--
            (1) explains why the Department of State made the 
        determination to pay out rewards in cryptocurrency;
            (2) lists each cryptocurrency payment already provided by 
        the State Department;
            (3) provides evidence as to why cryptocurrency payments 
        would be more likely to induce whistleblowers to come forward 
        with information than rewards paid out in United States dollars 
        or other prizes;
            (4) analyzes how the State Department's use of 
        cryptocurrency could undermine the dollar's status as the 
        global reserve currency; and
            (5) examines if the State Department's use of 
        cryptocurrency could provide bad actors with additional hard-
        to-trace funds that could be used for criminal or illicit 
        purposes.
    (c) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
        Representatives;
            (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.

SEC. 4. REPORT ON BLOCKCHAIN USAGE FOR UKRANIAN HUMANITARIAN NEEDS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the 
Secretary of the Treasury and the Administrator of the United States 
Agency for International Development, shall submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees a report on the most effective avenues to 
promote economic development and provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine, 
including possible uses of cryptocurrencies or other technologies 
incorporating blockchains. Such report shall--
            (1) review and analyze the advantages offered by cross-
        border transactions involving digital assets relative to other 
        traditional avenues for cross-border humanitarian relief 
        payments and the reasons for those advantages, including 
        structural barriers which may impact the cost, efficiency, and 
        reliability of traditional payment channels; and
            (2) also review and analyze ways in which technologies 
        incorporating blockchains can--
                    (A) assist in the care, support, or resettlement of 
                refugees and internally displaced persons from Ukraine;
                    (B) address humanitarian access challenges and 
                ensure the effective delivery of such assistance to 
                persons from Ukraine;
                    (C) increase efficiency, accountability, and 
                transparency in the administration of humanitarian aid 
                provided by the United States to persons from Ukraine;
                    (D) prevent corruption through the use of ``web3'' 
                technologies;
                    (E) improve access to capital; and
                    (F) bolster the efficiency and reliability of 
                cross-border remittances.
    (b) Form.--The report required under subsection (a) shall be 
submitted in unclassified form and may include a classified annex.
    (c) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 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. 5. EFFECTIVENESS AND ENFORCEMENT OF SANCTIONS.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) on March 9, 2022, President Biden issued an Executive 
        Order outlining a national policy to mitigate the risks, and 
        harness the potential benefits of, digital assets and 
        distributed ledger technology;
            (2) the growing development and adoption of digital assets 
        have created an urgent need for the United States to play a 
        leading role in the global financial system and facilitate 
        technological innovation;
            (3) these developments have had significant implications 
        that pose risks to the financial stability and national 
        security interest of the United States, including issues 
        relating to privacy and surveillance;
            (1) the United States Government must--
                    (A) ensure the efficacy and enforcement of the 
                United States' sanctions regime by preventing the 
                misuse of digital assets, which can facilitate 
                transactions by Russian persons subject to sanctions;
                    (B) mitigate national security liabilities and 
                systemic financial risks posed by the misuse of digital 
                assets by developing policy recommendations and 
                addressing existing regulatory gaps; and
                    (C) maintain technological leadership to promote 
                United States global competitiveness and play a leading 
                role in the global governance of digital assets.
    (b) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury, in 
        consultation with the Secretary of State, shall submit a report 
        to the appropriate congressional committees that provides an 
        assessment on how digital currencies affect the effectiveness 
        and enforcement of United States sanctions against the Russian 
        Federation and actors subject to sanctions related to the 
        Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine.
            (2) Matters to be included.--The report under paragraph (1) 
        shall--
                    (A) describe any efforts by the Russian Federation 
                or persons subject to sanctions related to the Russian 
                Federation's invasion of Ukraine to utilize digital 
                assets to evade the sanctions regimes of the United 
                States and its international allies and partners;
                    (B) describe any efforts by persons subject to 
                sanctions related to the Russian Federation's invasion 
                of Ukraine to use decentralized finance technology or 
                other similar technology to effect transactions, 
                including digital wallets, digital asset trading 
                platforms, and digital asset exchanges;
                    (C) assess how the use or adoption of digital 
                currencies could undermine the national security 
                interests of the United States and impact the efficacy 
                and enforcement of sanctions, , and the enforcement of 
                anti-money laundering provisions;
                    (D) detail actions taken by the United States 
                government to work with private sector actors to combat 
                the evasion of sanctions imposed by the United States; 
                and
                    (E) include recommendations for new legislative and 
                regulatory measures needed to strengthen the United 
                States Government's ability to prevent any states, 
                state-sponsored actors, and non-state-sponsored actors 
                from using digital currencies to evade sanctions 
                imposed by the United States Government.
    (c) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
        Representatives;
            (2) the Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
        Representatives;
            (3) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
            (4) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of 
        the Senate.
    (d) Report Form.--The report required under subsection (b) shall be 
submitted in unclassified form with a classified annex, if necessary.

            Passed the House of Representatives September 20, 2022.

            Attest:

                                             CHERYL L. JOHNSON,

                                                                 Clerk.

                               By Kevin F. McCumber,

                                                          Deputy Clerk.