Senate Panel Backs Bill to Give Russian Assets to Ukraine

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Jan. 24 approved a bill that would authorize the government to seize about $5 billion in frozen Russian central bank assets in the U.S. to help pay for rebuilding Ukraine.

“There is no question that Russia has the moral and legal responsibility to pay for Ukraine’s reconstruction given the destruction its unlawful re-invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the ongoing war has caused,” committee Chairman Ben Cardin, D-Md., said.

While the bill would affect only a small fraction of the approximately $300 billion in Russian central bank assets frozen worldwide, Cardin said he hopes the legislation encourages other countries, including U.S. allies and partners in Europe, to follow suit. The seizure would appear to be unprecedented, as Cardin said the U.S. has never confiscated the central bank assets of a foreign country with which it was not at war.

The committee endorsed the proposed Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity (REPO) for Ukrainians Act by a 20-1 vote, with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., the lone dissenter. The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a similar bill in November. It is unclear when the full House and Senate might take up the legislation.

The Russian and Ukrainian embassies in Washington didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Cardin said the REPO for Ukrainians Act is not an alternative or substitute for the Biden administration’s $60 billion supplemental appropriations request for military, economic and humanitarian aid for Ukraine. The administration submitted the request to Congress in October along with requests for funding for Israel, the Indo-Pacific, and homeland border security. The package has stalled amid disagreements over border security.