Overview

• The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has advanced the REPO (Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity) for Ukrainians Act, a bill that would allow the U.S. to seize frozen Russian assets to pay for Ukraine’s reconstruction.
• The bill, if passed, would mark the first time the U.S. has seized foreign assets of a country it is not at war with.
• The U.S. holds about $5 billion to $6 billion in Russian central bank assets that it froze in February 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
• The action was taken in coordination with partners in Europe, Canada and Japan, with total frozen Russian central bank assets held overseas said to amount to about $300 billion.
• The legislation has broad support from both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate and House, as well as from President Biden's administration.