Kean's Bill to Impose Sanctions on Rosatom Passes Committee
(May 16, 2024) WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed Europe Subcommittee Chairman, Tom Kean, Jr.’s (NJ-07) Rosatom Sanctions Enforcement Act. This bill will impose sanctions on Rosatom, the Russian state-owned nuclear energy corporation.
“Rosatom helps the Kremlin blunt the impact of sanctions by providing revenue for Vladimir Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine,” said Chairman Kean. “We must use every tool possible to cripple Putin’s war machine and end Western reliance on the Russian nuclear energy sector. As Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, I will continue to work with my colleagues to starve Putin of the resources he needs to prosecute his war of aggression, including by tightening the noose around Rosatom. We cannot afford to allow Russia’s nuclear industry to continue to dominate the global nuclear energy market.”
The Rosatom Sanctions Enforcement Act, as amended in markup, would restrict a vital source of income for Russia’s war machine by imposing sanctions on Rosatom and its subsidiaries. The sanctions authorized by this bill will help dissuade countries from creating a critical dependency on the Russian energy sector and will thereby help end Russia’s ability to use Rosatom as a tool to spread its malign influence. The bill will also help revitalize the nuclear energy industry in the U.S. and partner countries, creating jobs and filling the supply gap left by malign Russian actors.
The bill would:
- Require the President to submit a strategy to replace Russian nuclear suppliers in U.S., allied, and partner supply chains;
- Impose sanctions on Rosatom, its affiliates and subsidiaries, foreign individuals involved in Rosatom’s construction of new reactors, and anyone who aids or abets sanctions violations by those individuals and entities;
- Authorize secondary sanctions on any foreign person engaged in significant transactions with Rosatom;
- Provide limited waiver authorities to ensure we can responsibly remove Rosatom from our nuclear energy, industrial, and medical supply chains
- Requires a report on the national security implications of our 123 agreement with Russia and other countries like the PRC.
Chairman Kean previously held a Europe Subcommittee Hearing during which the witnesses testified on the dangers posed by Rosatom, its impact on Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, and its impact on the global nuclear supply chain, watch HERE.
Read the bill text HERE.
Watch the hearing HERE.
Congressman Kean currently serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and is the Chairman of the Europe Subcommittee.
###