U.S. Senator Jim Risch - ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee | Official U.S. Senate headshot
U.S. Senator Jim Risch - ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee | Official U.S. Senate headshot
U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), along with U.S. Representatives Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), have urged President Biden to implement the REPO Act ahead of the G7 finance ministers’ meeting this week.
The REPO Act, signed into law on April 24, grants the president authority to seize Russian sovereign assets frozen in the United States and transfer them to Ukraine for reconstruction purposes. It also mandates that the president collaborate with international allies, including those in the G7, to establish an international compensation mechanism.
In their letter, the members stated: “We appreciate that your National Security Council is leading talks to encourage our G7 and European Union partners to find creative mechanisms for using Russian sovereign funds frozen in their respective jurisdictions. We all agree that acting together with our G7 and European allies is critical to the success of this effort given the vast majority of frozen Russian sovereign assets lie in G7 and E.U. jurisdictions.”
They added: “We are encouraged to hear your team is working toward an announcement for the June G7 meeting on this front. We request a briefing on the progress of these talks by June 1st.”
Highlighting urgency, they continued: “To show Russia we are serious, it is critical we are seen to be taking steps toward implementing the REPO Act in support of Ukraine. As you well know, Russia shows no signs of relenting on its illegal military campaign or engaging in multilateral talks, so the time to act is now. As such, we urge you to take swift action to implement the REPO Act and brief us accordingly.”
The letter requests updates on several fronts:
1. A status update on section 104(a) implementation of identifying and reporting Russian sovereign assets held by financial institutions.
2. Progress reports from ongoing talks led by the National Security Council with G7 and EU partners.
3. Details on engagements between Treasury officials and international counterparts regarding asset confiscation.
The lawmakers concluded by emphasizing timely action: "To show Russia we are serious...we urge you to take swift action."
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