[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 416 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 416
To designate the Russian-based mercenary Wagner Group as a foreign
terrorist organization, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 14, 2023
Mr. Wicker (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Tillis, Mr.
Blumenthal, Mr. Graham, Mr. Whitehouse, and Mr. Rubio) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To designate the Russian-based mercenary Wagner Group as a foreign
terrorist organization, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES.
This Act may be cited as the ``Holding Accountable Russian
Mercenaries Act'' or the ``HARM Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Secretary of State's designation of an entity as a
foreign terrorist organization results from a determination
that--
(A) the entity is foreign and engages in terrorism
or terrorist activity; and
(B) the terrorist activity threatens the security
of the United States or its nationals.
(2) The activities of the Wagner Group and affiliated
entities of Russian national Yevgeniy Prigozhin pose a threat
to the national interests and national security of the United
States and allies and partners of the United States, including
with respect to Russia's war on Ukraine, which President Biden
declared, on March 2, 2022, ``pose[s] an unusual and
extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign
policy of the United States''.
(3) On June 20, 2017, the Department of the Treasury's
Office of Foreign Assets Control designated the Wagner Group
and its military leader, Dmitry Utkin, pursuant to Executive
Order 13660 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking property
of certain persons contributing to the situation in Ukraine)
``for being responsible for or complicit in, or having engaged
in, directly or indirectly, actions or policies that threaten
the peace, security, stability, sovereignty or territorial
integrity of Ukraine''.
(4) On September 20, 2018, the Department of State added
Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his affiliated entities, including the
Wagner Group, to the list of persons identified as part of, or
operating for or on behalf of, the defense or intelligence
sectors of the Government of the Russian Federation under
section 231 of the Countering America's Adversaries Through
Sanctions Act (22 U.S.C. 9525).
(5) On January 20, 2023, a White House spokesperson
announced that the Department of the Treasury will designate
the Wagner Group as a significant transnational criminal
organization pursuant to Executive Order 13581 (50 U.S.C. 1701
note; relating to blocking property of transnational criminal
organizations), consistent with the authority granted to the
President under section 203(a) of the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702).
(6) The Wagner Group, a self-described private actor that
undertakes military action and subversive operations at the
behest of the Government of the Russian Federation, is a
``terrorist group'' that engages in ``terrorism'' (as defined
in section 140(d) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act,
Fiscal Year 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. 2656f(d))), which is
``premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated
against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or
clandestine agents''.
(7) The Wagner Group and its affiliated entities have
committed, or are credibly accused of committing, terrorist
activity (as defined in section 212(a)(3)(B) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B))), through their
involvement in--
(A) the massacres, rape, and torture of civilians
in Bucha, Ukraine, in March 2022;
(B) the massacres in Moura, Mali, in March 2022;
(C) the massacres of migrant workers and civilians
in mining regions along the Sudan- Central African
Republic border in 2022;
(D) the murder of Russian journalists in the
Central African Republic in June 2018 as well as
threats against United States journalists investigating
such incident;
(E) the kidnapping of children in the Central
African Republic in 2022 to work in mines;
(F) the rape and sex trafficking of women and
children in the Central African Republic between 2018
and 2022;
(G) the sabotage and lethal suppression of civilian
protestors in Sudan in 2019;
(H) the use of nerve agents against Libya's
Government of National Accord and deployment of illegal
land mines and booby-traps in civilian areas of Tripoli
between 2019 and 2020;
(I) the torture and execution of a Syrian national
in June 2017;
(J) efforts to assassinate Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky in March 2022; and
(K) the receipt of weapons shipments initially
reported in December 2022 from the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea, which the Secretary of State had
designated a state sponsor of terrorism on November 20,
2017.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Russian-based mercenary Wagner Group meets the
criteria for designation by the Secretary of State as a foreign
terrorist organization under section 219(a) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189(a)); and
(2) the Secretary of State should designate the Wagner
Group as a foreign terrorist organization under such section
219(a).
SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF THE MERCENARY WAGNER GROUP AS A FOREIGN
TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.
(a) In General.--Upon the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
State shall designate the Wagner Group as a foreign terrorist
organization in accordance with section 219(a) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189(a)).
(b) Application.--The designation required under subsection (a)
shall equally apply to any affiliated and successor entities to the
Wagner Group undertaking malign activities against the United States
and its allies and partners, including activities taking place in
Ukraine, Africa, and the Middle East.
(c) Waiver.--The President may waive the application of sanctions
under this section if the President determines and reports to the
appropriate congressional committees that such a waiver is in the
national security interest of the United States.
(d) Annual Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State
shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees
describing the international activities of the Russian-based mercenary
Wagner Group.
(e) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``appropriate
congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(3) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of
the Senate;
(4) the Committee on Financial Services of the House of
Representatives;
(5) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives;
(6) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives; and
(7) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives.
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