Opposition to H.R. 6930, also known as the Asset Seizure for Ukraine Reconstruction Act, has united far left and far right members of Congress.
The bill, which authorizes President Biden to "seize assets belonging to a foreign person whose wealth is derived in part through political support for or corruption linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin," overwhelmingly passed in the House, 417-8, last week.
Democratic Reps. Cori Bush (D–Mo.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D–Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (D–Mich.) were joined by their GOP counterparts, Reps. Madison Cawthorn (R–N.C.), Thomas Massie (R–Ky.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R–Ga.), and Chip Roy (R-Texas) in opposing the bill.
H.R. 6930 authorizes shocking violations of due process and separation of powers. It endows the president with the authority to confiscate property upon an unreviewable determination that “Russia remains engaged in a territorial conquest in Ukraine.”
No statutory guidelines limit the president’s discretion. President Joe Biden, for example, could determine that Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea or control of the Donbas region has made it permanently engaged in a conquest of Ukraine. The delegation lacks a constitutionally required limiting principle.
Upon making the statutory determination, the president is empowered to confiscate assets valued by him at over $5 million within the jurisdiction of the United States if they are owned by Russian oligarchs whom the president proclaims have accumulated wealth because of connections to Putin and have been blacklisted by the president for suspected corruption, human rights violations, malign Russian influence, or Ukraine. The targeted oligarchs receive neither notice nor an opportunity to respond, nor an opportunity to confront accusers, nor an independent or impartial decisionmaker — summary justice at its worst. (The Hill)
In a statement, AOC said the bill asks the president to "violate the 4th Amendment, seize private property, and determine where it would go – all without due process.
"This sets a risky new precedent in the event of future Presidents who may seek to abuse that expansion of power, especially with so many of our communities already fighting civil asset forfeiture," she added.
Massie also shared her concern about the precedent the legislation sets.
Giving Biden unilateral authority to seize property, without providing some semblance of due process, sets a dangerous precedent regardless of whose property is to be taken.https://t.co/C61hoQH94X
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) May 2, 2022
According to a congressional summary, the funds from the assets may go towards post-conflict reconstruction, humanitarian assistance, weapons for Ukraine, refugee resettlement efforts, and technology items for Ukraine.