Hill’s legislation lays financial cost of Ukraine’s reconstruction at Russia’s feet

U.S. Rep. French Hill (R-AR) on Sept. 8 proposed legislation that would declare the Russian Federation an aggressor state and authorize the transfer of the country’s blocked assets within the United States to be used for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

“It is past time for Russia to take financial responsibility for its assault on another sovereign nation,” Rep. Hill said. “My legislation, the Ukraine Reconstruction Act, will hold Russia liable for the cost instead of placing the burden on American taxpayers.”

Rep. Hill sponsored the Ukraine Reconstruction Act of 2023, H.R. 5370, to amend the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to authorize the U.S. president to seize and transfer the title of Russian sovereign assets located within the U.S. into an international fund for the sole purpose of being used to pay for Ukraine’s eventual reconstruction, according to a bill summary provided by the congressman’s staff.

All confiscated funds would be subject to rigorous standards for accounting, auditing, transparency, and public reporting to Congress, says the summary.

“With billions of dollars spent by the United States and Ukraine’s allies around the world, seizing Russian sovereign assets is a critical next step in our international cooperation,” said Rep. Hill, vice-chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and member of both the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

According to the Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs Task Force from G7 nations, an estimated $280 billion of Russian sovereign assets are currently frozen and being held in countries around the world.

Also under H.R. 5370, Belarus would be designated as an “Affiliated Aggressor State” for aiding and abetting Russia, which “has engaged in egregious and illegal behavior by invading Ukraine in violation of established norms of international law and the United Nations Charter,” according to the text of the bill.