Republican members of the House Financial Services Committee are urging Committee Chair Maxine Waters (D-CA) to act on a slate of legislative proposals that seek to further isolate the Putin regime in Russia from the international financial system.
“As the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its second week, it is clear the United States’ national security interests and those of our allies are threatened. It is imperative that Congress send a strong message to the Putin regime to persuade it to change its calculations and put an end to Russia’s destabilizing activities in the region. The four bills outlined below, together, provide a strong counter to Russia’s destabilizing efforts. We, therefore, ask that you include these bills in the upcoming markup on March 16, 2022,” the GOP members wrote to Waters.
The letter was signed by U.S. Reps. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), ranking member on the committee, Andy Barr (R-KY), Ann Wagner (R-MO), French Hill (R-AR), and Bill Huizenga (R-MI).
The Republican members are asking Waters to act on the No Energy Revenues for Russian Hostilities Act, introduced by Barr. It would prohibit U.S. financial institutions from engaging in transactions related to Russian energy.
Another is the Isolate Russian Government Officials Act, introduced by Wagner. It would exclude Russian government officials from attendance at the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings, G-20 proceedings, Financial Action Task Force plenaries, and Annual General Meetings of the Bank for International Settlements.
The third is the Russia and Belarus SDR Exchange Prohibition Act, sponsored by Hill. This legislation would deprive Russia and Belarus of emergency liquidity by calling for the U.S. and IMF member countries to prevent Russia and Belarus from exchanging Special Drawing Rights for hard currency. It would also prohibit the issuance of new SDRs for the Putin and Lukashenko dictatorships.
The fourth bill is the Russian Sovereign Debt Prohibition Act, introduced by Huizenga. This bill would close a loophole in Russian sovereign bond restrictions by prohibiting secondary market dealings in debt issued before March 1.
“We believe these measures can achieve broad bipartisan support and signal Congress’s unity against Russia’s militarism in Ukraine,” the GOP members wrote.