The
U.S. Congress has approved more than $100 billion in military,
humanitarian and economic aid for Ukraine since Russia invaded
in February 2022. While leaders of both parties insist U.S.
support for the Kyiv government remains strong, some members of
Congress have questioned how long that level of aid can continue
amid calls to clamp down on government spending.
The bill's sponsors said their intention is to ensure Moscow
pays for damage caused by the invasion, not U.S. taxpayers.
"Over a year into Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, more
than $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets remain frozen
globally," said Senator Jim Risch, the top Republican on the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a sponsor of the bill.
"Given Russia’s brutality and continued war crimes against the
Ukrainian people, it is only right that Russian government funds
in the United States be seized and repurposed to help Ukraine
rebuild its country," he said.
Among other things, the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and
Opportunity (REPO) for Ukrainians Act introduced in the Senate
and House of Representatives would give the U.S. president the
authority to confiscate Russian assets frozen in the United
States and transfer them to help Ukraine.
It also would bar the release of funds to sanctioned Russian
entities until Russia withdraws from Ukraine and agrees to
provide compensation for harm caused by the war.
The bill's other Republican sponsors include Representative
Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
and Representatives Joe Wilson, Thomas Kean and Brian
Fitzpatrick.
Democratic sponsors include Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and
Representative Marcy Kaptur, a co-chair of the Congressional
Ukraine Caucus, as well as Representatives Steve Cohen and Mike
Quigley.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Editing by William Maclean)
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