Schumer: Use seized oligarch assets to help Ukraine

WASHINGTON — Money from the sale of Russian assets seized by the United States government — including yachts and high-end homes — would flow directly to Ukraine under legislation being put forward by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

As the Biden administration continues to press Congress to pass a $33 billion aid package for Ukraine, Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Sunday that he will include provisions in the package to increase the federal government’s ability to seize and liquidate U.S. assets of Russian oligarchs.

"It’s time for sanctioned Russian oligarchs to be held accountable” for Russian President Vladmir Putin’s deadly invasion of Ukraine, Schumer said Sunday at a news conference from his midtown Manhattan office.

“It’s time for them to foot the bill and pay up,” Schumer said, adding that he expects to put the aid package up for a Senate floor vote this month.

Last week President Joe Biden, in a White House speech, implored Congress to pass additional funding for the Ukrainian war effort, noting that relief funding passed last month would soon run out.

The new package will “keep weapons and ammunition flowing without interruption to the brave Ukrainian fighters and continue delivering economic and humanitarian assistance to the Ukrainian people," Biden said in the speech.

Schumer said the provisions were crafted in close consultation with the White House as well as the Commerce, Justice, State and Treasury departments. The administration “needs new authority,” Schumer said, that would be provided under the provisions allowing the U.S. government to use the proceeds of seized items to support Ukraine.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, appearing on the Sunday morning political talk shows, expressed support for passing a second relief package for Ukraine.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told ABC’s “This Week” he believed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi should call members back into session this week to vote on the proposal.

“I think time is of the essence,” McCaul said. “The next two to three weeks are going to be very pivotal and very decisive in this war. And I don't think we have a lot of time to waste in Congress … every day we don't send them more weapons is a day where more people will be killed and a day where they could lose this war. I think they can win it, but we have to give them the tools to do it.”

Asked about Biden’s $33 billion request, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the U.S. is prepared to “do what it takes to see Ukraine win, because it's not just about Ukraine. It is about the international order.”

“If Ukraine does not win, if Putin can ultimately not only succeed … but then be emboldened maybe to go further, if he strikes a country under NATO, under our treaty obligations with NATO, then we would be directly engaged,” Menendez said. “So stopping Russia from getting to that point is critically of interest to us, as well as the world, so that we don't have to send our sons and daughters into battle, and I think that ability not to have to send our sons and daughters into battle is priceless.”

Samantha Power, the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which oversees much of the federal government’s humanitarian efforts overseas, said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that there is a “desperate need” to pass the aid for Ukraine.

"There are vast swaths of Ukraine that have been newly liberated by Ukrainian forces, where there is desperate need, everything from demining to trauma kits to food assistance, since markets are not back up and running," Power said.

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.