Federal

Make Russia Pay Act

Source: Congress.gov · 494 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill creates a fund in the Department of the Treasury called the Ukrainian Humanitarian Aid Fund. The bill requires the Secretary of the Treasury to take Russian assets that the United States has seized and sell them. The money from selling these assets goes into the new fund to help Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees.

Who It Affects

The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the government of Ukraine, Ukrainian refugees who fled their homes, European Union member nations that have accepted Ukrainian refugees, and Ukrainian citizens remaining in Ukraine.

Key Provisions

• The Secretary of the Treasury must seize all Russian assets held by the United States, declare them forfeited (given up permanently), and sell them. The money from the sale goes into the Ukrainian Humanitarian Aid Fund. (Sec. 2(b)) • The Secretary of the Treasury may use money from the fund to help Ukrainian refugees who fled their homes. This help can go directly to European Union countries that are housing these refugees. (Sec. 2(c)(1)) • The Secretary of the Treasury may send money from the fund to the government of Ukraine for food, clothing, shelter, medical help and other relief the Secretary decides is needed. (Sec. 2(c)(2)(A)) • The Secretary of the Treasury may use fund money to rebuild Ukrainian buildings and infrastructure damaged or destroyed during the conflict. (Sec. 2(c)(2)(B)) • The Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of Defense together decide how much money from the fund goes to Ukraine for security assistance to defend against Russian aggression. (Sec. 2(c)(2)(C))

What Changes

A new Ukrainian Humanitarian Aid Fund is created in the Treasury Department. Russian assets seized by the United States are sold and the money placed in this fund. The Secretary of the Treasury gains authority to spend this money on humanitarian relief and security help for Ukraine.

Important Definitions

None defined in the bill text.

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 892 To transfer seized Russian assets to a Ukrainian Humanitarian Aid Fund and to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to use amounts in the Fund for humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, and for other pur- poses. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 9, 2023 Mrs. BICE (for herself, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. ESTES, and Mr. CRENSHAW) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on For- eign Affairs A BILL To transfer seized Russian assets to a Ukrainian Humani- tarian Aid Fund and to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to use amounts in the Fund for humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Make Russia Pay Act’’. 4 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Mar 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H892.IH H892 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 892 IH SEC. 2. UKRAINIAN HUMANITARIAN AID FUND. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There is estab- 2 lished a fund in the Department of the Treasury to be 3 called the ‘‘Ukrainian Humanitarian Aid Fund’’. 4 (b) USE OF SEIZED RUSSIAN ASSETS.—All Russian 5 assets seized by the United States, including seized Rus- 6 sian Central Bank foreign reserves, shall be deemed for- 7 feited, and the Secretary of the Treasury shall liquidate 8 such assets and deposit the resulting funds into the 9 Ukrainian Humanitarian Aid Fund. 10 (c) USE OF FUND AMOUNTS.—The Secretary of the 11 Treasury may use amounts in the Ukranian Humani- 12 tarian Aid Fund for the following purposes: 13 (1) To provide humanitarian relief to Ukrainian 14 refugees who have fled their homes due to Russian 15 aggression. Such relief may be made directly to 16 member nations of the European Union who have 17 taken in refugees from Ukraine. 18 (2) Funding to the government of Ukraine to 19 provide humanitarian assistance to its citizens who 20 remain in Ukraine and security assistance, includ- 21 ing— 22 (A) funding to provide food, clothing, shel- 23 ter, medical assistance, and other forms of re- 24 lief the Secretary determines to be appropriate; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Mar 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H892.IH H892 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 892 IH (B) funding to rebuild damaged or de- 1 stroyed infrastructure; and 2 (C) security assistance funding needed to 3 defend from Russian aggression, where the de- 4 termination of the amount of such funding is 5 made jointly by the Secretary of the Treasury 6 and the Secretary of Defense. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Mar 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H892.IH H892 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

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