,i  #aahth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #cigi  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,june #i1 #bjbc,mr4  
,lieu 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,cohen1 ,mr4   
,wilson of ,south ,carolina1 ,mr4       
,golden of ,maine1 ,mr4 ,buck1 and ,mrs4
 ,cherfilus-,mc,cormick7 introduced the 
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs  ,a 
,,bill  ,to provide for the designation 
of the ,russian ,federation as a state  
sponsor of terrorism4  #a4 ,short title 
,this ,act may be cited as the ,russia  
is a ,state ,sponsor of ,terrorism ,act4
  #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the     
following3 7#a7 ,pursuant to existing   
law1 it is ,united ,states policy to    
designate countries that have repeatedly
 provided support for acts of           
international terrorism as state        
sponsors of terrorism4  7#b7 ,cuba1 the 
,democratic ,people's ,republic of      
,north ,korea1 ,iran1 and ,syria are    
designated as state sponsors of         
terrorism4  7#c7 ,at the direction of   

,president ,vladimir ,putin1 the        
,government of the ,russian ,federation 
has and continues to promote acts of    
international terrorism against         
political opponents and nation states4  
7#d7 ,under the orders of ,president    
,putin1 the ,government of the ,russian 
,federation engaged in a campaign of    
terror1 utilizing brutal force targeting
 civilians during the ,second ,chechen  
,war4  7#e7 ,actions by the ,government 
of the ,russian ,federation against     
civilian centers1 such as ,grozny1 the  
capital of ,chechnya1 left countless    
innocent men1 women1 and children dead  
or wounded4  7#f7 ,since #bjad1 the     
,government of the ,russian ,federation 
has supported separatists engaging in   
acts of violence against ,ukrainian     
civilians in the ,donbas region4  7#g7  
,the ,government of the ,russian        
,federation provides material support to
 ,syria1 a nation currently designated  
as a state sponsor of terrorism1 that   
has been used to target the ,syrian     

people4  7#h7 ,according to the         
,congressional ,research ,service1 the  
,russian ,federation uses private       
military networks of mercenaries1 such  
as the ,wagner ,group1 which            
collaborates with the ,ministry of      
,defense of the ,russian ,federation1 to
 support the foreign policy objectives  
of the ,russian ,federation4 ,these     
private mercenary networks supported by 
the ,russian ,federation have spread    
terror in various parts of the world4   
7#i7 ,the ,department of the ,treasury  
identifies the ,wagner ,group as a      
designated ,russian ,ministry of        
,defense proxy force and states that    
,wagner's activities in other countries1
 including ,ukraine1 ,syria1 ,sudan1 and
 ,libya1 have generated insecurity and  
incited violence against innocent       
civilians4  7#aj7 ,it was reported in   
,february #bjbb that more than #djj     
,russian mercenaries from the ,wagner   
,group were dispatched to ,kyiv with    
orders from the ,kremlin to assassinate 

,president ,volodymyr ,zelensky and     
members of the ,government of ,ukraine4 
7#aa7 ,on ,march #a1 #bjbb1 ,jason      
,blazakis1 the director of the          
,department of ,state's                 
,counterterrorism ,finance and          
,designations ,office in the ,bureau of 
,counterterrorism from #bjjh to #bjah1  
wrote in reference to white supremacist 
groups that ,russia provides sanctuary  
to a ,u4,s4-designated terrorist group1 
the ,russian ,imperial ,movement1 which 
operates with impunity in ,russian      
territory44  7#ab7 ,on ,march #ag1      
#bjbb1 ,president ,volodymyr ,zelensky  
called for the world to acknowledge the 
,russian ,federation as a terrorist     
state4  7#ac7 ,the ,verkhovna ,rada of  
,ukraine has appealed to ,congress to   
encourage the ,department of ,state to  
recognize the ,russian ,federation as a 
state sponsor of terrorism noting that  
the ,russian ,federation has for years  
supported and financed terrorist regimes
 and terrorist organizations1 including 

being the main supplier of weapons to   
the ,assad regime in ,syria and         
supporting terrorists in the ,middle    
,east and ,latin ,america1 organizing   
acts of international terrorism1        
including the poisoning of the ,skripal 
family in the ,united ,kingdom of ,great
 ,britain and ,northern ,ireland1 the   
downing of a civilian ,malaysian        
airliner and other acts of terrorism4   
7#ad7 ,on ,november #bc1 #bjbb1 the     
,european ,parliament recognized ,russia
 as a state sponsor of terrorism4  7#ae7
 ,on ,november #bc1 #bjbb1 the ,european
 ,parliament recognized the ,russian    
,federation as a state sponsor of       
terrorism4  7#af7 ,on ,january #bf1     
#bjbc1 the ,department of the ,treasury 
designated the ,wagner ,group as a      
,transnational ,criminal ,organization1 
citing that ,wagner personnel have      
engaged in an ongoing pattern of serious
 criminal activity1 including mass      
executions1 rape1 child abductions1 and 
physical abuse in the ,central ,african 

,republic 7,,car7 and ,mali4  7#ag7 ,as 
of ,january #bf1 #bjbc1 the ,wagner     
,group has also been sanctioned by      
,australia1 ,canada1 ,japan1 the ,united
 ,kingdom1 and the ,european ,union4    
7#ah7 ,on ,february #be1 #bjbc1 the     
,european ,union implemented ,council   
,regulation #bjbc_/dcj1 which sanctioned
 eight people and seven entities for    
serious human rights abuses linked to   
the ,wagner ,group in the ,central      
,african ,republic and ,sudan4  7#ai7   
,on ,february #bg1 #bjbc1 ,united       
,nations ,secretary-,general ,antnio    
,guterres called ,russia's actions in   
,ukraine the most massive violations of 
human rights in the world today in a    
speech to the ,human ,rights ,council in
 ,geneva4  7#bj7 ,the ,united ,states   
has a range of tools available to hold  
the ,russian ,federation accountable1   
reduce its war machine1 and isolate it  
economically and diplomatically1        
including by designating it as a state  
sponsor of terrorism and imposing       

corresponding sanctions4  #c4           
,designation of the ,russian ,federation
 as a state sponsor of terrorism  7a7   
,in general ,effective beginning on the 
date of the enactment of this ,act1 the 
,russian ,federation shall be deemed to 
have been determined to be a country the
 government of which has repeatedly     
provided support for acts of            
international terrorism for purposes    
of-- 7#a7 section #aged7;c77#a77;,a7 of 
the ,export ,control ,reform ,act of    
#bjah 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4                    
#dhac7;c77#a77;,a772  7#b7 section      
#fbj;,a of the ,foreign ,assistance ,act
 of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bcga72  7#c7  
section #dj of the ,arms ,export        
,control ,act 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bghj72 or 
7#d7 any other provision of law4  7b7   
,rule of construction ,nothing in this  
,act may be construed as to provide for 
the imposition of sanctions against any 
person that engages in transactions to  
export agricultural products from       
,ukraine or to provide humanitarian     

assistance in ,ukraine4