WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, held a Committee business meeting to consider 8 nominations, including the nomination of Kurt Campbell to be Deputy Secretary of State, promotions of Foreign Service Officers, and the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity (REPO) for Ukrainians Act.
The final text of the REPO Act reported out by the Committee by a vote of 20-1 included a number of bipartisan amendments and improvements to the bill, including a presidential certification that the U.S. has coordinated with the G7 to act multilaterally regarding the seizure of assets, expedited judicial review procedures, and extended authorities for the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act and the Global Engagement Center at the Department of State, both of which were set to expire this year.
“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. Yet the REPO Act is incredibly consequential, perhaps more so than anything we vote on in this Committee other than authorizations to use military force,” said Chair Cardin. “Confiscating central bank assets of a foreign country with which we are not at war would be a first for the United States. With this in mind, we have to ensure that the product we move out of this Committee, and the precedent we set, reflects our interests and our values.”
“We must also be crystal clear that advancing this bill does not absolve Congress of passing supplemental appropriations for Ukraine,” continued Cardin. “That remains the most urgent foreign relations priority for Congress—we absolutely have to pass it, as the consequences of not doing so would be catastrophic.”
Chair Cardin’s remarks on the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity (REPO) for Ukrainians Act, as prepared for delivery, are available below.
On legislation, we are considering S. 2003, the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act, known as the REPO bill. It is an important bill—a priority for Senator Risch and Senator Whitehouse—and I am pleased that we are marking it up today.
I won’t speak at length on REPO now because we’ll have more opportunity for debate after we vote on the nominations, but I do want to make three points:
First, we need to be clear about what REPO is and what it is not, as there seems to be some confusion in the public domain. REPO would authorize the seizure of Russian sovereign assets immobilized in the United States—reportedly approximately five billion dollars, out of a total of around $300 billion immobilized worldwide—and the repurposing of those assets for the reconstruction of 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.
At the same time, REPO is NOT an alternative or a substitute for the supplemental appropriations bill that President Biden requested several months ago and that would provide $60 billion of urgently-needed funding for Ukraine, including for its immediate needs for continued defense against Russia, along with critical funding for Israel and Taiwan. The Supplemental remains the most urgent foreign relations priority for Congress—we absolutely have to pass it, as the consequences of not doing so would be catastrophic.
Second, REPO’s main contribution lies in its importance from a diplomatic perspective. While it could directly unlock a small fraction of the hundreds of billions of dollars of immobilized Russian assets worldwide, enactment of REPO will hopefully spur other countries, including our European partners and allies, which hold the vast bulk of immobilized Russian sovereign assets, to seize and repurpose those assets for Ukraine.
Finally, REPO is incredibly consequential, perhaps more so than anything we vote on in this Committee other than authorizations to use military force. Central bank assets are the most protected class of assets under international law and pursuant to our domestic law. Confiscating them is the “nuclear option” for economic actions, and confiscating central bank assets of a foreign country with which we are not at war would be a first for the United States.
With this in mind, we have to ensure that the product we move out of this Committee, and the precedent we set, reflects our interests and our values—obviously as they relate to Ukraine, but also in regard to U.S. national and economic security, to the stability of the international financial system, and to our commitment to the rule of law.
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