Congressman Cohen Votes for Asset Seizure for Ukraine Reconstruction Act

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Co-Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, better known as the Helsinki Commission, today voted for the Asset Seizure for Ukraine Reconstruction Act.

The vote on passage was 417 to 8.

The measure expresses the sense of Congress that the President should confiscate any property or accounts subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. valued over $2 million and belonging to Russian energy companies or to foreign persons whose wealth is derived in part through corruption linked to or political support of President Putin and that such interest or property should be held, used, administered, liquidated, or sold for the benefit of the people of Ukraine.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

"I am proud to be an original cosponsor of the Asset Seizure for Ukraine Reconstruction Act and, as a founding member of the Caucus against Foreign Corruption and Kleptocracy, I was pleased to vote for this measure. Ukraine is being decimated and will require substantial investment over the next decade. It's only right that the oligarchs propping up the Putin regime and its unjustified war should pay some of the price for its reconstruction."

Last month, Congressman Cohen introduced the Oligarch Asset Forfeiture Act which would liquidate the wealth amassed by oligarchs and use it to bolster Ukraine's defense and rebuild it when the war ends.

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