,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dcgi ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,april #bb1 #bjbf,mr4 ,kennedy 7for himself and ,mr4 ,whitehouse7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and ,urban ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,secretary of ,state and the ,secretary of ,defense to jointly submit a report on efforts by the ,government of the ,russian ,federation to violate the religious freedoms of the people of ,ukraine1 to require the ,president to impose all applicable sanctions with respect to foreign persons determined to have engaged in such efforts1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,russia's ,war on ,faith ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,in territories of ,ukraine temporarily occupied by the ,russian ,federation1 ,russian occupation authorities have imposed policies that restrict1 suppress1 and eliminate freedom of religion and belief1 in violation of international law and civilian protections under the law of armed conflict4 7#b7 ,the ,united ,states ,commission on ,international ,religious ,freedom has documented that ,russian authorities in occupied ,ukrainian territories have engaged in severe violations of religious freedom1 including the detention1 torture1 disappearance1 and unlawful imprisonment of clergy and believers1 as well as the closure and confiscation of houses of worship4 7#c7 ,according to ,ukrainian authorities and independent monitoring groups1 ,russian forces have damaged or destroyed more than #fjj churches1 synagogues1 mosques1 and other religious sites since the start of the ,russian ,federation's full-scale invasion4 7#d7 ,the ,russian ,federation has killed more than #ej ,ukrainian priests1 pastors1 and other religious leaders during the ,russian ,federation's invasion1 and many others have been abducted1 detained1 tortured1 or forcibly disappeared in occupied territories4 7#e7 ,protestant1 ,catholic1 ,muslim1 members of the ,church of ,jesus ,christ of ,latter-,day ,saints1 ,crimean ,tatar1 and ,orthodox ,christian communities not aligned with the ,russian ,orthodox ,church have been subjected to raids1 forced re-registration under ,russian law1 intimidation1 and criminal prosecution1 with many congregations driven underground or permanently shuttered4 7#f7 ,religious buildings in occupied areas have been seized and repurposed for military or administrative use1 religious literature has been confiscated1 and charitable ministries dismantled1 eroding both the spiritual and humanitarian foundations of local communities4 7#g7 ,the ,russian ,orthodox ,church1 led by ,patriarch ,kirill of ,moscow1 has publicly framed the invasion in theological terms1 describing the war as a holy war having metaphysical significance and stating in a ,september #bjbb sermon that if a soldier dies in the performance of military duty1 this sacrifice washes away all the sins that a person has committed4 ,according to the ,committee on ,international ,religious ,freedom1 ,russian de facto authorities often commit religious freedom violations to facilitate the dominance of the ,russian ,orthodox ,church of the ,moscow ,patriarchate in these territories4 7#h7 ,the ,russian ,federation's actions demonstrate a systematic campaign of religious persecution in occupied ,ukrainian territory1 violating the fundamental right to freedom of thought1 conscience1 religion1 and belief as protected under the ,universal ,declaration of ,human ,rights and the ,international ,covenant on ,civil and ,political ,rights4 #c4 ,report on the ,russian ,federation's persecution of religious groups in occupied territories of ,ukraine2 imposition of sanctions 7a7 ,report required ,not later than #abj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and annually thereafter for #c years1 the ,secretary of ,state and ,secretary of ,defense1 in coordination with the ,director of ,national ,intelligence1 shall jointly submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes-- 7#a7 a detailed description of the ,government of the ,russian ,federation and its state-affiliated1 quasi-state1 or occupation-era activities that involve the persecution or suppression of1 or discrimination against1 or otherwise directly or indirectly involve engaging in or facilitating serious human rights abuse against1 ,christians1 ,jews1 and ,muslims 7including ,crimean ,tatars71 and other religious minorities not affiliated with the ,russian ,orthodox ,church1 and their respective religious organizations in ,russian-occupied territories of ,ukraine2 7#b7 an identification of churches1 synagogues1 mosques1 other religious facilities1 including ,christian1 ,jewish1 ,muslim1 and other minority religious institutions1 that have been destroyed1 damaged1 seized1 repurposed1 or otherwise appropriated directly or indirectly by persons operating for or on behalf of the ,government of the ,russian ,federation in occupied territories of ,ukraine2 7#c7 an assessment of-- 7,a7 the number of ,christians1 ,jews1 ,muslims 7including ,crimean ,tatars71 and other religious minorities who are not affiliated with the ,russian ,orthodox ,church1 who have been subjected to persecution1 imprisonment1 or forced displacement in occupied territories of ,ukraine2 7,b7 restrictions imposed on ,christian1 ,jewish1 ,muslim1 and other religions not affiliated with the ,russian ,orthodox ,church's religious practices1 worship services1 or religious education in occupied territories2 7,c7 efforts to compel ,christian organizations to affiliate with ,moscow-based religious institutions or to suppress ,christian activity not affiliated with ,moscow-based religions2 7,d7 efforts by the ,government of the ,russian ,federation1 by authorities exercising de facto governmental control in occupied territory1 or by entities or individuals otherwise affiliated with the ,russian ,federation1 to compel ,christian organizations in ,ukraine and in occupied territories-- 7i7 to affiliate with ,moscow-based religious institutions2 or 7ii7 to suppress ,christian1 ,jewish1 ,muslim1 or any other denominations not aligned with ,russian state interests2 and 7,e7 the overall impact of the ,russian ,federation's invasion of ,ukraine1 and its occupation of ,ukrainian territory1 on religious freedom in occupied territories of ,ukraine1 including ,crimea and ,sevastopol2 and 7#d7 a list of individuals and entities affiliated with the ,government of the ,russian ,federation1 or exercising de facto authority in occupied territory1 that-- 7,a7 are responsible for persecution or suppression of1 or discrimination against1 ,christians1 ,jews1 or ,muslims in ,ukraine and in the occupied territories of ,ukraine2 or 7,b7 have otherwise engaged in or attempted to engage in any of the conduct described in this subsection4 7b7 ,certification required ,not later than #cj days after the submission of each report required by subsection 7a71 the ,president shall certify to the appropriate congressional committees whether there may be reasonable grounds to determine that any of the individuals and entities included in the list described in subsection 7a77#d7 have engaged the any of the conduct described in paragraph 7#b7 or 7#c7 of subsection 7a74 7c7 ,effect of positive certification ,if the ,president makes an affirmative certification under subsection 7b7 with respect to a foreign person1 the ,president shall impose applicable sanctions with respect to that person pursuant to the authorities and procedures set forth in the applicable regulations under-- 7#a7 part #ehc of title #ca1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations 7relating to sanctions authorized under the ,global ,magnitsky ,human ,rights ,accountability ,act 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #ajaja et seq4772 7#b7 part #ehi of title #ca1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations 7relating to ,ukraine-_/,russia-related sanctions72 7#c7 part #ehg of title #ca1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations 7relating to ,russian harmful foreign activities sanctions72 or 7#d7 any other regulation under chapter ,v of title #ca1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 providing for the imposition of sanctions 7including the blocking of property or interests in property7 with respect to the conduct for which such person received an affirmative certification4 7d7 ,effect of subsequent negative determination ,to the extent that the ,president determines1 based on a subsequent report required by subsection 7a71 that an individual or entity previously listed in such a report no longer engages in any of the conduct described in subsection 7b7 or otherwise no longer meets the requirements with respect to the applicable sanctions imposed with respect to such person under subsection 7c71 the ,president may waive or terminate the application of such sanctions with respect to that person4 7e7 ,form ,the report required by subsection 7a7 shall be submitted in an unclassified form1 but may include a classified annex4 7f7 ,appropriate congressional committees defined ,in this section1 the term appropriate congressional committees means-- 7#a7 the ,committee on ,armed ,services1 the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and ,urban ,affairs1 the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations1 and the ,select ,committee on ,intelligence of the ,senate2 and 7#b7 the ,committee on ,armed ,services1 the ,committee on ,financial ,services1 the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 and the ,permanent ,select ,committee on ,intelligence of the ,house of ,representatives4