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113TH CONGRESS
2ND SESSION

H. R. 5241
To prohibit United States Government recognition of Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 29, 2014
Mr. CONNOLLY (for himself and Mr. CHABOT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

A BILL

To prohibit United States Government recognition of Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Crimea Annexation Non-recognition Act”.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION AGAINST UNITED STATES RECOGNITION OF RUSSIA’S ANNEXATION OF CRIMEA.

a. STATEMENT OF POLICIY – The United States Government may not recognize the de jure or de facto sovereignty of the Russian Federation over Crimea, its airspace, or its territorial waters.

b. PROHIBITION – In accordance with subsection (a), no Federal department or agency may take any action or extend any assistance that recognizes or implies recognition of the de jure or de facto sovereignty of the Russian Federation over Crimea, its airspace, or its territorial waters.

c. WAIVER – The President may waive subsection (a) or (b) if the President determines that it is vital to the national security interests of the United States to do so.

WHEREAS Lithuania has applied for membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OCED), and

WHEREAS Lithuania since regaining its independence has successfully built a democratic country, ensured the rule of law, developed a free and strong market economy, and consistently pursued a course of integration into the community of free and democratic nations, and has become a full and responsible member of the World Trade Organization, European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and

WHEREAS Lithuania has adopted strict legislation on human and minority rights and conforms to European and international norms, and

WHEREAS Lithuania’s economic and political programs affirm its commitment to OECD core values and has contributed to global economic progress and stability and has demonstrated that Lithuania is ready to contribute to strengthening OECD goals and competence, and

WHEREAS Lithuania’s economy recovered from the 2008 economic crisis and continues to strengthen and grow economically, and

WHEREAS Lithuania’s economy has been assessed by credit ratings agencies–Standard and Poor’s, The Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service — as among the most flexible and resilient economies in the European Union, and

WHEREAS Lithuania is a reliable partner in international efforts to eradicate corruption, and

WHEREAS Lithuania has reached high uniformity and compliance with OECD standards, and has joined a number of communities and institutions, and will join other bodies in the near future, and

WHEREAS Lithuania’s membership in the OECD would not only benefit Lithuania and the OECD, but also benefit the United States,

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVEDby the members of the Baltic American Freedom League at its annual meeting February 1, 2014 in Pasadena, California:

(1) That the Baltic American Freedom League expresses full support for Lithuania’s application in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

(2) That the Baltic American Freedom League urges the U.S. Government and the U.S. Congress to support Lithuania’s membership in the OECD.

WHEREAS on August 23, 1939, the agreement known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, or the Stalin-Hitler Pact, was signed between the Communist Soviet Union and Nazi Germany; which helped lay the groundwork for World War II and the subsequent devastation of many Central and Eastern European nation states;

WHEREAS the extreme forms of totalitarian rule practiced by the Nazi and Communist dictatorships led to premeditated and vast crimes committed against millions of human beings, depriving them of their inalienable rights and dignity on a scale unseen before in history;

WHEREAS twenty years after the fall of the totalitarian Communist regimes in Europe, knowledge about their crimes against peoples in Central and Eastern Europe for more than 40 years –including systematic and ruthless military, economic and political repression of the people by means of arbitrary executions, mass arrests, deportations, the suppression of free expression, confiscation of private property, as well as separating these people from the democratic world with the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall — is still alarmingly superficial and inadequate;

WHEREAS during the Cold War, the U.S. Congress chose to raise public awareness on behalf of these oppressed people by declaring an annual Captive Nations Week, which President Eisenhower and every successive U.S. President up to the administration of President Barack Obama, has reaffirmed each year and declared that it be observed the third week of July;

WHEREAS in November 2009, Canada’s Parliament passed a resolution declaring August 23 as Black Ribbon Day, an annual day of remembrance for the victims of Communism and Nazism in Europe, and August 23 has also been designated by the European Parliament as International Black Ribbon Day;

WHEREAS originally U.S. Congressman Dan Lungren had introduced House Resolution 790 in 2012 “To Establish an Annual Day of Remembrance – Black Ribbon Day – For The Victims of Soviet Communist and Nazi Regimes”;

BE IT RESOLVED THAT every victim of any totalitarian regime has the same human dignity and deserves justice, remembrance and recognition, with the truth being told to counter the falsification of history for political gain, in efforts to ensure that such crimes and events are never again repeated;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Baltic American Freedom League unequivocally condemns the crimes against humanity committed by Soviet Communist and Nazi totalitarian regimes;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Baltic American Freedom League urges the U. S. Congress to establish August 23 as Black Ribbon Day — an annual day of remembrance to honor the victims of totalitarianism and to coincide with the anniversary of the signing of the infamous pact between the Soviet Communist and totalitarian Nazi regimes.

Adopted by the Baltic American Freedom League on February 9, 2013, Los Angeles, California.