Ukraine Humanitarian Support Act of 2022
Bill: H.R.6984 | Sponsor: Rep. Keating, William R. (D-MA)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Ukraine Humanitarian Support Act of 2022
This bill authorizes the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development to provide humanitarian assistance to address the urgent needs of Ukrainians fleeing Ukraine and those internally displaced within Ukraine. The State Department must also report to Congress a strategy for working with foreign governments and multilateral organizations to address the humanitarian situation in the region as a result of further invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

To authorize humanitarian assistance to the people 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 Humanitarian Support Act of 
2022''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Vladimir Putin has repeatedly threatened and violated 
        the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia's 
        neighbors, including Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine to 
        quash democratic movements in those countries and strengthen 
        his own power.
            (2) In 2014, Russia invaded and has since occupied regions 
        of Ukraine, including areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, 
        after the Ukrainian people ousted, a corrupt and repressive 
        President Viktor Yanukovych and expressed their clear desire to 
        deepen their integration with the European Union.
            (3) On February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation, led by 
        Vladimir Putin, drastically escalated his invasion in Ukraine, 
        resulting in a full-scale invasion by the Russian Armed Forces 
        and causing massive displacement in the country and region that 
        threatens to trigger a wider humanitarian crisis in Europe.
            (4) Vladimir Putin's decision to escalate his invasion of 
        Ukraine is being met with stiff Ukrainian resistance and 
        transatlantic and international resolve to support Ukraine and 
        hold Russia accountable.
            (5) The United States and its allies and partners around 
        the globe provided every opportunity for a diplomatic 
        resolution to this crisis to avoid unnecessary death and 
        suffering.
            (6) Putin's aggression in Ukraine threatens universal 
        democratic ideals and transatlantic security.
            (7) According to Human Rights Watch and international 
        monitors, the Russian Armed Forces have committed grave 
        violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, 
        including violations against children's rights, the use of 
        explosive weapons including cluster munitions in populated 
        areas, and indiscriminate attacks on civilians, homes, and non-
        military infrastructure.
            (8) Adherence to the Geneva Conventions and their 
        Additional Protocols is essential to ensure humanitarian access 
        and life-saving assistance can be maintained for civilian 
        populations despite conflict.
            (9) As part of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the 
        Russian Armed Forces, Vladimir Putin and Belarusian Alyaksandar 
        Lukashenka have further cracked down domestically, including 
        mass arrests, on any dissent on Russians and Belarusians who 
        voice opposition to this war.
            (10) The invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Armed Forces 
        threatens Belarusian and Russian dissidents living in Ukraine 
        as well as ethnic and LGBTQI+ minorities and other vulnerable 
        groups.
            (11) Ukrainians have displayed immense bravery, courage, 
        and resolve in standing up to protect democratic values and 
        their sovereignty and resist illegal and unprovoked aggression 
        from the Russian Armed Forces led by Putin.
            (12) The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian 
        Armed Forces threatens to create a dire humanitarian crisis in 
        Europe with secondary and tertiary impacts across the globe.
            (13) According to a rapid humanitarian needs assessment by 
        the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian 
        Affairs, in the next three months the conflict is projected to 
        drive humanitarian needs for nearly 12 million people living in 
        Ukraine at the time of the escalation, including a projected 
        6.7 million internally displaced persons within Ukraine, and as 
        many as 4 million people in Ukraine projected to flee to 
        neighboring countries for safety.
            (14) Prior to full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian 
        Armed Forces, around 1.4 million people had been internally 
        displaced inside Ukraine since Russia's invasion in 2014, and 
        potentially millions more will be displaced in Ukraine already 
        in dire need of assistance and survivors of eight years of 
        violence and insecurity.
            (15) According to the United Nations High Commissioner for 
        Refugees the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian 
        Armed Forces beginning in February of 2022 displaced roughly 
        1.5 million people living in Ukraine within the first two 
        weeks, with millions more expected to flee or be internally 
        displaced.
            (16) Ukraine's neighbors (Moldova, Poland, Slovakia, 
        Hungary, and Romania) have welcomed and provided immediate and 
        unconditional support close to two million Ukrainian refugees.
            (17) Humanitarian efforts will be required across sectors 
        to address the needs of refugees and internally displaced 
        persons from Ukraine will require including shelter, 
        protection, nutrition and food security, emergency 
        telecommunications, logistics, education, as well as water, 
        sanitation and hygiene.
            (18) Humanitarian assistance efforts should take into 
        account the gender, age, disability makeup of refugees and 
        others in need of humanitarian assistance to ensure adequate 
        supplies of appropriate assistance including protection needs 
        and services.
            (19) Humanitarian assistance should take into account the 
        provision of mental health and psycho-social support to crisis 
        affected populations with specific provisions for the needs of 
        children.
            (20) In addition, the needs of the immediate humanitarian 
        crisis, the further invasion and destruction of Ukraine by 
        Russian Armed Forces will have secondary and tertiary effects 
        for ongoing humanitarian crises around the world, including 
        exacerbating food insecurity and disrupting global agricultural 
        markets given Ukraine's historical wheat production.
            (21) Ukraine is a primary source of grain and corn exports 
        for the Middle East and Africa, which are already grappling 
        with hunger issues, food shortages, and price increases.
            (22) The further invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Armed 
        Forces will prevent farmers from fertilizing and replanting 
        their crops, which will affect output of production in the next 
        harvest cycle, lower their total exports, and create further 
        implication for global food security in the years to come.
            (23) Many families who have fled Ukraine have lost their 
        homes and their livelihoods and, thus, although emerging survey 
        data suggest the majority would like to return home, it is more 
        likely that many will have to stay in third countries for an 
        extended time as the situation in Ukraine stabilizes and 
        critical infrastructure, communities, and homes are rebuilt.
            (24) The majority of these refugees are women and children, 
        and the children will need access to language courses, 
        education, and educational services while seeking refuge in a 
        third country.
            (25) On March 3, 2022, the Biden Administration, with the 
        strong support of Congress, extended Temporary Protected Status 
        for thousands of Ukrainians in the United States.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that the United States should--
            (1) continue its strong support for the Ukrainian people 
        and their desire to live in a democratic, independent country;
            (2) continue to provide assistance to meet humanitarian, 
        security, and other needs in Ukraine;
            (3) continue strong engagement with United States allies 
        and partners to represent a strong and united response to the 
        invasion of Ukraine by Russian Armed Forces;
            (4) continue to work with such allies and partners to 
        support the Ukrainian government in achieving a durable 
        political solution to the crisis;
            (5) leverage diplomatic relations with such allies and 
        partners to guarantee access and the delivery and provision of 
        humanitarian assistance to crisis-affected populations in 
        Ukraine and in refugee hosting countries;
            (6) leverage international partnerships and U.S. 
        representation at international forums such as the United 
        Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in 
        Europe to encourage safe passage of vulnerable displaced 
        persons to areas not in or under Russian control and secure 
        humanitarian space and principled humanitarian action within 
        and outside Ukraine;
            (7) support efforts to document and publicize gross 
        violations of internationally recognized human rights and 
        international humanitarian law committed during the invasion of 
        Ukraine by Russian Armed Forces, including violations against 
        children;
            (8) ensure funding can be used to support critical 
        training, capacity, and direction activities for robust civil 
        society and citizen monitoring and evidence collection of 
        potential violations of international human rights perpetrated 
        against crisis-affected children and other civilians as a 
        result of the conflict in Ukraine, and ensure resourcing and 
        capacity for effective reporting mechanisms to hold 
        perpetrators of grave violations against children and other 
        persons accountable;
            (9) leverage international partnerships and United States 
        representation at international forums such as the United 
        Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation 
        demand justice for gross violations of human rights and 
        potential war crimes committed by the Russian Armed Forces in 
        Ukraine;
            (10) support allies and partners, such host countries in 
        the region, including Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and 
        Poland, in building with humanitarian assistance support and 
        capacity for asylum processing, refugee reception, and 
        assistance programs;
            (11) work with Ukrainian authorities, United Nations 
        entities, the European Union and European allies, implementing 
        partners, and others to ensure unimpeded access and delivery of 
        humanitarian assistance within Ukraine;
            (12) ensure all humanitarian assistance remains flexible to 
        meet the needs of the evolving humanitarian situation in 
        Ukraine and the region, including recognizing and addressing 
        the secondary and tertiary effects of this conflict on 
        humanitarian crises around the world;
            (13) work with international partners, such as the United 
        National High Commissioner for Refugees, to ensure that 
        refugees fleeing violence in Ukraine, including children 
        unaccompanied or separated from their parents or caregivers, 
        are able to access necessary legal assistance and essential 
        services;
            (14) support efforts to provide primary, secondary, and 
        tertiary education for displaced children and youth whose 
        education has been disrupted by the further invasion of the 
        Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine, including refugee and 
        internally displaced children and youth, and children and youth 
        whose schools have closed due to the conflict; and
            (15) work with international partners to build the capacity 
        of implementers and national authorities, to provide essential 
        services and prepare for recovery responses.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE TO ADDRESS HUMANITARIAN 
              CRISIS CREATED BY THE FULL-SCALE INVASION OF UKRAINE BY 
              THE RUSSIAN ARMED FORCES.

    The Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States 
Agency for International Development may provide humanitarian 
assistance, and take additional support measures, to address the urgent 
needs of Ukrainians fleeing Ukraine and those internally displaced 
within Ukraine. Such humanitarian assistance may include, as 
appropriate, the following:
            (1) Emergency food and non-food commodities.
            (2) Staff and enabling mechanisms for disaster assistance 
        response teams, including gender and child protection experts.
            (3) Support for the medical needs and medicines to address 
        the medial needs of refugees and internally displaced persons.
            (4) Protection services, including against gender-based 
        violence and specialized programming to protect women and 
        girls.
            (5) Water, sanitation, and hygiene supplies and services, 
        with an emphasis on the provision of such supplies and services 
        necessary for the demographics of refugees and internally 
        displaced persons.
            (6) Necessary supplies and services to meet the distinct 
        needs of children affected by the full scale of invasion of 
        Ukraine by the Russian Armed Forces, including the following:
                    (A) Critical protection services that are 
                responsive to protection risks and driven by age, 
                gender, and disability status.
                    (B) Safe spaces for children and families 
                immediately following border crossing and expanding the 
                capacity of emergency care arrangements for 
                unaccompanied and separated children as well as family 
                tracing and reunification.
                    (C) Family tracing and reunification services for 
                unaccompanied and separated children.
                    (D) Child-focused immunization and nutrition 
                services.
                    (E) Services for pregnant and lactating mothers.
                    (F) Maternal and newborn health services and 
                information.
            (7) The adaptation and expansion of transition initiatives 
        that promote stabilization and early recovery.
            (8) Early recovery assistance, including preparations for 
        educational services and continued learning opportunities, to 
        be furnished during the first phase of response activities, for 
        children of all ages, genders, and disability statuses.

SEC. 5. STRATEGY TO MEET HUMANITARIAN NEED IN UKRAINE AND SURROUNDING 
              REGION AS A RESULT OF FURTHER INVASION OF UKRAINE BY THE 
              RUSSIAN ARMED FORCES.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of the 
United States Agency for International Development, shall submit to the 
appropriate congressional committees a strategy on the following:
            (1) How the United States, working with foreign governments 
        and multilateral organizations determined relevant by the 
        Secretary, may address the humanitarian situation in Ukraine 
        and the region around Ukraine as a result of the further 
        invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Armed Forces.
            (2) How the United States may encourage, through diplomatic 
        efforts, strategic burden-sharing and the coordination of 
        donations with international donors, including foreign 
        governments and multilateral organizations, to advance the 
        provision of humanitarian assistance to individuals fleeing the 
        conflict in Ukraine.
            (3) How the United States may mitigate risk, utilize third-
        party monitors, and ensure the effective delivery of such 
        assistance.
            (4) How the United States may address humanitarian access 
        challenges and ensure protection for vulnerable refugees and 
        migrants from Ukraine.

SEC. 6. REPORTS TO CONGRESS ON HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE PROVIDED TO 
              ADDRESS NEEDS OF UKRAINIANS.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
and every year thereafter, the Secretary of State, in consultation with 
the heads of such other Federal departments and agencies as the 
Secretary may determine appropriate, shall submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees a report that provides a detailed summary of 
the humanitarian assistance provided pursuant to section 4.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated not less than $8,000,000,000 
for humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

SEC. 8. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.

    In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the Senate; and
            (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
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