Title: To oppose violations of religious freedom in Ukraine by Russia and armed groups commanded or otherwise supported by or acting on behalf of Russia.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Ukraine Religious Freedom Support Act
This bill directs the President, when determining whether Russia is a country of particular concern for religious freedom under certain federal laws, to consider incidents occurring in the parts of Ukraine controlled by Russia or Russia-affiliated non-state groups. (The United States may take certain actions, such as withdrawing development assistance, against a country of particular concern for religious freedom.)

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 496 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 496

  To oppose violations of religious freedom in Ukraine by Russia and 
                   armed groups commanded by Russia.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 28, 2021

      Mr. Wilson of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. 
    Fitzpatrick, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Hudson, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. 
 Bilirakis, Ms. Eshoo, and Mr. Harris) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition 
to the Committees on the Judiciary, and the Budget, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To oppose violations of religious freedom in Ukraine by Russia and 
                   armed groups commanded by Russia.

    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 Religious Freedom Support 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Russia invaded, illegally occupied, and attempted to 
        annex the Crimea region of Ukraine in February 2014, continues 
        to occupy and control that region, and has exercised control 
        over part of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine since April 
        2014 through non-state armed groups and illegal entities it has 
        established, instigated, commanded, and supported, including 
        with military and intelligence personnel on the ground from 
        Russia.
            (2) International humanitarian law, including the Geneva 
        Conventions, to which Russia is a signatory, requires Russia to 
        respect and protect the religious freedom of the inhabitants of 
        the territory it occupies or controls, including through 
        organized non-state armed groups and illegal entities it 
        commands and supports, and holds Russia responsible for 
        violations of religious freedom in this territory.
            (3) According to the Department of State's International 
        Religious Freedom Reports, and other reporting, violations of 
        religious freedom in the Crimea region of Ukraine since Russia 
        invaded and occupied the territory have included abduction, 
        detention and imprisonment, torture, forced psychiatric 
        hospitalizations, fines, restrictions on missionary activities, 
        confiscations of property, including churches and meeting 
        halls, expulsions and obstructions to reentry, denying 
        registration of religious groups, vandalism, fines, and banning 
        peaceful religious groups, and targeted groups have included 
        Muslim Crimean Tatars, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, formerly 
        the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate, the 
        Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Protestant Christians, and 
        Jehovah's Witnesses.
            (4) According to the Department of State's International 
        Religious Freedom Reports, violations of religious freedom in 
        the part of the Donbas region of Ukraine controlled by armed 
        groups commanded by Russia have included detention and 
        imprisonment, torture, confiscation of property, including 
        churches and meeting halls, physical assaults and threats of 
        violence, vandalism, fines, restrictions on missionary 
        activities, religious services, ceremonies, gatherings, and 
        literature, and banning of peaceful religious groups, and 
        targeted groups have included the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, 
        formerly the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate, the 
        Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Protestant Christians, and 
        Jehovah's Witnesses.
            (5) The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, as 
        amended by the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom 
        Act, requires the President to--
                    (A) designate a foreign country as a country of 
                particular concern for religious freedom when its 
                government has engaged in or tolerated particularly 
                severe violations of religious freedom in that country 
                over the previous 12 months;
                    (B) take one or more of the actions described in 
                paragraphs (9) through (15) of section 405(a) of the 
                International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 
                6445(a)), or commensurate actions in substitution, not 
                later than 90 days, or 180 days in case of a delay 
                under paragraph (3), after the date of the designation 
                of a country as a country of particular concern for 
                religious freedom; and
                    (C) designate a foreign country on a ``Special 
                Watch List'' when its government has engaged in or 
                tolerated severe violations of religious freedom in 
                that country over the previous 12 months.
            (6) The Secretary of State designated Russia for the 
        ``Special Watch List'' on November 28, 2018, and redesignated 
        Russia for the ``Special Watch List'' on December 18, 2019, and 
        December 2, 2020.
            (7) The National Security Strategy of the United States 
        issued in 2017, 2015, 2006, 2002, 2000, 1999, 1998, and 1997, 
        committed the United States to promoting international 
        religious freedom to advance the security, economic, and other 
        national interests of the United States.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to never recognize the illegal, attempted annexation of 
        Crimea by the Government of the Russia or the separation of any 
        portion of Ukrainian territory through the use of military 
        force; and
            (2) to consider any alien who, while serving as an official 
        of the Government of Russia, was responsible for or directly 
        carried out particularly severe violations of religious freedom 
        in the sovereign territory of Ukraine that Russia illegally 
        occupies or controls, including through non-state armed groups 
        and illegal entities it commands and supports, to have 
        committed particularly severe violations of religious freedom 
        for purposes of applying section 212(a)(2)(G) of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(G)) with 
        respect to any such alien.

SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF RUSSIA AS A COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN FOR 
              RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

    For purposes of making a determination of whether to designate 
Russia as a country of particular concern for religious freedom under 
section 402 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 
U.S.C. 6442), the President shall consider any particularly severe 
violation of religious freedom in the territory of Ukraine that Russia 
occupies or controls, including controls through non-state armed groups 
and illegal entities it commands and supports, during the period of 
time that is the basis for the determination and designation, to be a 
particularly severe violation of religious freedom that the Government 
of Russia has engaged in or tolerated.

SEC. 5. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

    The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying 
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by 
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO 
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional 
Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that 
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
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