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US Senate panel backs 'big hammer' plan to seize Russian assets to help Ukraine
Reuters ^ | January 24, 2024 | Patricia Zengerle

Posted on 01/26/2024 2:26:53 PM PST by UMCRevMom@aol.com

A U.S. Senate committee approved legislation on Wednesday that would help set the stage for the United States to confiscate Russian assets and hand them over to Ukraine for rebuilding after the destruction of the nearly two-year-long war.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 20 to 1 in favor of the unprecedented "Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity (REPO) for Ukrainians Act."

If it were to pass the full Senate and House of Representatives and be signed into law by President Joe Biden, as expected, the act would pave the way for Washington's first-ever seizure of central bank assets from a country with which it is not at war.

Senator Ben Cardin, the Democratic foreign relations committee chairman, was optimistic about the bill becoming law, noting that it has broad support, from both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate and House, as well as from Biden's administration.

"Ukraine is on the verge of being overrun by Russia if we do not give them the help that they need... and we all know that it will not end with Ukraine," he said, before the committee voted. The House Foreign Affairs Committee has passed a similar bill, also with overwhelming bipartisan support. Cardin said he expected the Democratic-majority Senate and Republican-majority House would be able to resolve the differences between the two bills.

The EU, United States, Japan and Canada froze some $300 billion of Russian central bank assets in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. Only about $5 billion to $6 billion are in the United States, with most held in Europe, and most of those in Belgium's Euroclear central securities depositary.

"This is intended to be a big hammer. It's intended to be a very new way of attacking a country that does not behave itself," Republican Senator Jim Risch said.

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...


TOPICS: Government
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

Is our government going to include China in the asset seizure for its invasion and occupation of Tibet?


41 posted on 01/26/2024 3:32:39 PM PST by MCF (If my home can't be my Castle, then it will be my Alamo)
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To: delta7; escapefromboston

Once again note: the EU, United States, Japan and Canada have ALREADY FROZE some $300 billion of Russian central bank assets in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine.


42 posted on 01/26/2024 3:36:23 PM PST by UMCRevMom@aol.com (Pray for God's intervention to stop Putin's invasion of Ukraine 🇺🇸 )
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To: usurper
No other nation will ever trust the US with their money again.

I forgot to mention all US assets abroad whether government or privet will now be at risk of seizure and nationalization.

If we complain they can just say, Hey you set the standard.

43 posted on 01/26/2024 3:37:44 PM PST by usurper (AI was born with a birth defect.)
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

The act of confiscating and transferring the assets of a sovereign country will destabilize financial markets, set a precedent for this type of action to be deployed as a foreign policy tool worldwide, accelerate attempts by emerging economies to shift away from Western currencies and encourage tit-for-tat responses from Russia.

Down the road, China, India or another emerging economy could assume that they’re also on the right side of whatever conflict that could pop up between them and Western countries, (e.g. Taiwan). If Western democracies have previously set a precedent by seizing Russia’s assets, how will these states manage to convince anyone that China or India have no right to confiscate Western holdings if they so wish?

America is running out of friends. Who will trust us if violate agreements and seize the assets of another sovereign country?

BTW, if the REPO Act is signed into law, the legislation would mark the FIRST time the U.S. has seized foreign assets of a country we’re not at war with.

Confiscating the Russian central bank’s foreign-exchange reserves would come with huge economic, financial, and geopolitical unintended consequences.

And what will America’s taxpayers gain?


44 posted on 01/26/2024 3:38:11 PM PST by bimboeruption (“Less propaganda would be appreciated.” JimRob 12-2-2023)
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com
Here is just one of the lies Ukraine floated.

"Ukraine floats the theory it may have been tricked into shooting down the plane Russia says was full of Ukrainian POWs"

Business Insider POW Plane Shot Down

45 posted on 01/26/2024 3:38:17 PM PST by Karl Spooner
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To: usurper

This has been done very often since 1917.

It takes a lot to get into this sort of sanctions regime.

More likely to lead to a BRICS situation is a truly effective anti-Chinese protectionist scheme. Because China IS BRICS, the rest are opportunists and bad actors. And that protectionism is far more likely to come from a Euro-US right.

Btw, BRICS is not looking good at all given Chinas economic problems.


46 posted on 01/26/2024 3:38:26 PM PST by buwaya (Strategic imperatives )
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

Freezing assets is not confiscating. This is a bad idea and Ukraine will abuse it.

You need to go to a democrat site from here on out since you support Biden policy.


47 posted on 01/26/2024 3:43:47 PM PST by dforest
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To: bimboeruption

“And what will America’s taxpayers gain?”

U.S. treasure will not be used to finance the restoration of Ukraine.. Russian reparations will be used.


48 posted on 01/26/2024 3:45:53 PM PST by UMCRevMom@aol.com (Pray for God's intervention to stop Putin's invasion of Ukraine 🇺🇸 )
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To: bimboeruption

Well, yes.

If China tries for Taiwan its economic goose is cooked.
That sort of consequence is implicit in the system of the Pax Americana. This has been the case since 1945.

The US used access to its lucrative market (consumer and investment) as an incentive to good behavior. This was a very underappreciated factor in the Cold War. When Europe and Japan recovered, they added their own domestic markets to the global market pool. And as nations reached First World status they joined this pool.

China has felt trapped, under Xi, by these constraints. It cannot easily break out of it because its prosperity came from market access in the first place.


49 posted on 01/26/2024 3:49:05 PM PST by buwaya (Strategic imperatives )
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To: buwaya; dforest

As the article stated, Ukraine is not holding the frozen assets.

A U.S. Senate committee approved legislation on Wednesday that would help set the stage for the United States to confiscate Russian assets and hand them over to Ukraine for rebuilding after the destruction of the nearly two-year-long war.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 20 to 1 in favor of the unprecedented “Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity (REPO) for Ukrainians Act.”

Senator Ben Cardin, the Democratic foreign relations committee chairman, was optimistic as has broad support, from both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate and House,


50 posted on 01/26/2024 3:51:15 PM PST by UMCRevMom@aol.com (Pray for God's intervention to stop Putin's invasion of Ukraine 🇺🇸 )
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

They shouldn’t have done that either but openly stealing money is an awful idea


51 posted on 01/26/2024 3:51:54 PM PST by escapefromboston (Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.)
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com; McGruff

>No need to reflect upon my actions as I don’t repeat propaganda & certainly repeat fake Russian news.<

I love when you play Miss Innocent, mommy. You’re nothing but a UKE propaganda machine! So much so, JimRob had to give you at least 2 warnings and pull several of your threads.

Yet another Friendly Reminder:

To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

Respectfully, this is America. Christian America. Our history does not include ‘GLory’ to anyone other than to God. All Glory to God.

Less propaganda would be appreciated.

43 posted on 12/2/2023, 11:36:05 PM by Jim Robinson (Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God.)
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

As I said, less propaganda would be appreciated.

48 posted on 12/2/2023, 9:50:52 PM by Jim Robinson (Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God.)
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52 posted on 01/26/2024 3:52:39 PM PST by bimboeruption (“Less propaganda would be appreciated.” JimRob 12-2-2023)
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To: dforest

“You need to go to a democrat site from here on out since you support Biden policy”

This is absurd thinking.
The US government has a vast number of policies, some new and most ancient. Every US government inherits it all, most of which they carry on.

This demand of yours is akin to a demand to stop receiving Social Security or Medicare benefits, as these are also “Biden” policies.


53 posted on 01/26/2024 3:53:55 PM PST by buwaya (Strategic imperatives )
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To: bimboeruption

I am happy to see that this misguided individual is on the radar screen with the management.


54 posted on 01/26/2024 3:58:21 PM PST by Karl Spooner
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To: escapefromboston

The MAJOR “shouldn’t have done” occurred with the invasion of Ukraine by Putin.

The ‘A BIG HAMMER’ approach is to utilize frozen assets of Russia instead of bombs to curb the activity of warring nations.

QUOTE: “This is intended to be a big hammer. It’s intended to be a very new way of attacking a country that does not behave itself,” Republican Senator Jim Risch


55 posted on 01/26/2024 3:59:53 PM PST by UMCRevMom@aol.com (Pray for God's intervention to stop Putin's invasion of Ukraine 🇺🇸 )
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

>U.S. treasure will not be used to finance the restoration of Ukraine.. Russian reparations will be used.<

WOW! That’s good news, mommy, since we already poured $113 BILLION into the Zelensky/Biden Money Laundering Operation and Biden wants us to send his partner in crime, Zelensky, another 60 BILLION...all unaccounted for dollars.

We’ll all be able to sleep tonight.


56 posted on 01/26/2024 4:03:15 PM PST by bimboeruption (“Less propaganda would be appreciated.” JimRob 12-2-2023)
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

The senator should concern himself with America behaving itself


57 posted on 01/26/2024 4:04:25 PM PST by escapefromboston (Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.)
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To: bimboeruption

Everything comes out of Russia is propaganda too. Russia isn’t the saint that you think it is.


58 posted on 01/26/2024 4:04:37 PM PST by roving (Deplorable Listless Vessel Trumpist With Trumpitis and a Rainbow Bully)
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

You spread nothing but propaganda from your bunker in Kiev (safely far from the front).


59 posted on 01/26/2024 4:09:52 PM PST by Seruzawa ("The Political left is the Garden of Eden of incompetence" - Marx the Smarter (Groucho))
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To: dforest

If the Putin Groupies are upset, it must be the right move


60 posted on 01/26/2024 4:10:42 PM PST by canuck_conservative (NATO - now celebrating 75 successful years of keeping the Russian monsters out!!)
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