Senate To Mark Up Ukraine REPO Bill On Wednesday

On Wednesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will mark up the bipartisan REPO for Ukrainians Act, a piece of legislation which would authorise the transfer of frozen Russian assets to the 'Ukraine Support Fund.'

• Rep French Hill (R-AK) and Lulzim Basha, a member of the Albania parliament wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed in December: "Given the urgency of helping Ukraine, the U.S. and Europe must present a united front against Russia by acting sooner rather than later.... Strong legislation to seize all Russian sovereign assets is a start."
• Politico reports that the bill which, “would allow the U.S. to send money seized from Russia’s Central Bank and other institutions to help Ukraine rebuild,” is facing an amendment from Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) which could “water down” the legislation by “introducing language that would allow asset transfers only when all G7 member nations agree."
• A letter circulated by Razom for Ukraine reads: “It would be a mistake were the committee to add in new provisions to the REPO Act that require the approval of third countries — even allies — before the U.S. can transfer Russian state assets.”
• Should the bill pass the Senate, it faces an unclear future. Paul Stephen at UVA argues that, although the legislation has merits, the mechanism, "increases the risk that an end to the war (or at least the fighting) might be delayed by Russia’s insistence on its rights, a position that other influential states may support."