Expressing strong support for the people of Moldova and for the Moldovan Government in their demonstrated commitment to advancing democracy, strengthening civil society, and European integration in the face of Russia's illegal and full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

IV 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 146 Expressing strong support for the people of Moldova and for the Moldovan Government in their demonstrated commitment to advancing democracy, strengthening civil society, and European integration in the face of Rus- sia’s illegal and full-scale invasion of Ukraine. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 21, 2023 Mr. KEATING (for himself, Mr. LAWLER, and Ms. ROSS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Expressing strong support for the people of Moldova and for the Moldovan Government in their demonstrated com- mitment to advancing democracy, strengthening civil so- ciety, and European integration in the face of Russia’s illegal and full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Whereas, over 30 years ago, the Republic of Moldova achieved independence and has since demonstrated a strong commitment to advancing democracy, strength- ening civil society, furthering accession to the European Union, and deepening cooperation with the North Atlan- tic Treaty Organization through the Partnership for Peace Program; Whereas the United States has encouraged and continues to support the Republic of Moldova’s independence, sov- VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Feb 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR146.IH HR146 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HRES 146 IH ereignty, territorial integrity, and movement toward de- mocracy; Whereas the United States Agency for International Develop- ment and United States Government assistance programs have supported the Republic of Moldova’s democratic as- pirations and economic growth since 1992; Whereas a joint observation mission from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), Parliamen- tary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), and European Parliament (EP) determined the Moldovan parliamentary elections held on July 11, 2021, were ‘‘competitive and well run’’ and offered suggestions for further improvements; Whereas the Party of Action and Solidarity, led by Maia Sandu, has pledged and begun to implement an anticorruption campaign that includes reforms to the ju- dicial system, campaign finance, justice, and recovery of assets misappropriated by Moldovan officials, and the simplification of the regulatory framework for business; Whereas, on June 23, 2022, the Republic of Moldova received European Union (EU) candidate status, together with Ukraine, and has since worked toward enacting the nec- essary structural reforms; Whereas United States National Security Strategy adopted in October 2022 declares support for the European aspira- tions of Moldova and its commitment to important insti- tutional reforms; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Feb 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR146.IH HR146 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HRES 146 IH Whereas the United States supports the promotion of local governance, rule of law, and combating disinformation in Moldova; Whereas Russia’s brutal, illegal, and full-scale invasion of Ukraine has directly threatened the sovereignty and terri- torial integrity of Moldova by destabilizing energy secu- rity and the economy in the country; Whereas more than 8,000,000 refugees have fled Ukraine and, as of February 2023, Moldova has processed over 760,000 cross-border movements from Ukraine as a re- sult of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine with more than 100,000 registering as refugees in Moldova; Whereas Moldovans have valiantly opened their homes and provided resources to Ukrainian refugees who have fled as a result of Russia’s illegal invasion; Whereas the Russian Government is engaged in a coordinated disinformation campaign to destabilize the current gov- ernment and support pro-Russian candidates, political parties, and other pro-Russian elements; Whereas access to energy resources is vital for the success of the Moldovan economy and for the prosperity of the Moldovan people; Whereas Russia has weaponized their energy resources with regards to Moldova repeatedly cutting natural gas sup- plies in order to create an energy crisis in the country; Whereas Russian military forces and equipment have re- mained in the Transnistrian region of Moldova since Moldova declared independence in 1991; Whereas Russian military forces in the Transnistrian region of Moldova represent a direct threat to Moldova’s sov- ereignty and territorial integrity; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Feb 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR146.IH HR146 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HRES 146 IH Whereas it is the longstanding policy of the United States to not recognize territorial changes that are the result of il- legal uses of force; Whereas the United States condemns the illegal presence of Russian military forces in the Transnistrian region of Moldova; Whereas, in February 2023, reports indicate a Russian mis- sile fired at Ukraine crossed over Moldovan sovereign ter- ritory, which Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu called ‘‘the unacceptable violation of our airspace’’; Whereas Moldovan Foreign Ministry spokesman called on Russia ‘‘to stop the military aggression against [Ukraine] which is causing numerous loss of human lives and mate- rial destruction’’; Whereas Russia continues to threaten Moldova’s sovereignty and territorial integrity through its naval presence in the Black Sea and Russian-occupied Crimea, and through re- peated firing of rockets over sovereign Moldovan airspace as well as continued occupation of the Transnistrian re- gion of Moldova; Whereas Russia’s military activities in the region pose a di- rect threat to Moldova’s sovereignty and territorial integ- rity as well as to neighboring North Atlantic Treaty Or- ganization (NATO) members Romania, Hungary, Slo- vakia, and Poland; Whereas the United States has contributed upward of $320,000,000 in emergency support to Moldova since February 24, 2022, and the European Union has re- cently pledged 250,000,000 Euros to help Moldova over- come the economic, energy, security, and humanitarian impacts of the Kremlin’s war of aggression in Ukraine; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Feb 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR146.IH HR146 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HRES 146 IH Whereas most recently Moldovan democracy is actively threatened by Russian malign influence, including the re- cent uncovering of a plot by Russian malign forces to use agents provocateurs to attack government buildings under the guise of public protests in an effort to desta- bilize Moldova; Whereas Moldovan President Maia Sandu said Russia’s goal was to change ‘‘the legitimate power from Chisinau to an illegitimate one’’; Whereas antigovernment demonstrations last year were orga- nized by the pro-Russian Shor Party which President Sandu characterized as ‘‘attempts to undermine the State’’; Whereas, in October 2022, the United States enacted eco- nomic sanctions on malign, Russian-backed actors in Moldova including Ilan Shor, Vladimir Plahotniuc, and 7 other individuals, as well as 12 entities who are ‘‘widely recognized for capturing and corrupting Moldova’s polit- ical and economic institutions and those acting as instru- ments of Russia’s global influence campaign’’; and Whereas in the face of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, pro- motion of liberal, democratic values is vital for the pres- ervation, facilitation, and success of democracy in Moldova: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) reaffirms the United States commitment to 2 the Republic of Moldova in the face of Russian ma- 3 lign influence and military aggression; 4 (2) lauds the strengthening of civil society, de- 5 mocracy, and democratic institutions in Moldova and 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Feb 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR146.IH HR146 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HRES 146 IH encourages the people of Moldova and elected rep- 1 resentatives to continue to enhance their democracy, 2 strengthen the rule of law, and fight corruption; 3 (3) welcomes the strong mandate given to 4 proreform forces by the Moldovan people during the 5 July 2021 Parliamentary elections and the Novem- 6 ber 2020 Presidential election; 7 (4) expresses strong support for Moldova’s goal 8 of integration with the Western, democratic commu- 9 nity; 10 (5) supports the Moldovan people’s aspirations 11 for membership in the European Union and devel- 12 oping stronger connections to the United States 13 transatlantic partners; 14 (6) urges the European Union to continue to 15 promote Moldova’s accession processes to the Euro- 16 pean Union to ensure Moldova’s economic and na- 17 tional security; 18 (7) supports the Moldovan people and Govern- 19 ment in their desire to rid the country of corruption 20 and oligarchic control; 21 (8) calls on the Biden administration to work 22 with our transatlantic allies and review further ac- 23 tions against any individuals or groups working to 24 undermine democracy in Moldova; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Feb 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR146.IH HR146 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HRES 146 IH (9) condemns in the strongest possible terms 1 Russian malign activities in Moldova; 2 (10) supports initiatives and productive co- 3 operation within the four working groups under the 4 United States-Moldova Strategic Dialogue as a mean 5 to enhance ties between the two countries; 6 (11) finds that it is in the interest of the 7 United States and its allies to support democratic 8 governance, energy security, and economic growth in 9 Moldova for the advancement of European and glob- 10 al security and prosperity; 11 (12) urges elected officials and policymakers in 12 Moldova to build upon the practices of free and fair 13 elections to further bolster legitimate and equitable 14 election processes in the nation; 15 (13) calls for all personnel and equipment be- 16 longing to Russian security or Armed Forces to be 17 withdrawn from the sovereign territory of Moldova; 18 and 19 (14) continues to support an Organization for 20 Security and Co-operation in Europe-led negotiation 21 process a special status for the Transnistrian region 22 within a territorially whole and sovereign Moldova 23 within the internationally recognized borders. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Feb 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR146.IH HR146 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB