LETTER TO EDITOR: A PLAN TO HELP UKRAINE WITH PUTIN'S BILLIONS
WASHINGTON, D.C.,
June 20, 2024
A Plan to Help Ukraine With Putin's Billions
by Rep. French Hill Wall Street Journal June 20, 2024 Your editorial “The West and Putin’s Billions” (June 15) is spot on when it describes the G-7 plan as needlessly “complex.” Using the interest income from the frozen Russian assets to fashion a $50 billion loan will be ineffective and won’t maximize the benefits to Ukraine quickly enough. A strong bipartisan majority in the House and Senate included the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity (REPO) for Ukrainians Act in the recently enacted foreign-aid package. This law authorizes the president to seize the immobilized Russian sovereign assets and place them in an international trust fund for the benefit of Ukraine. This offers the legal protection of possessing title to those assets, as placing the assets in trust provides sound legal assurance and oversight. Only in this structure are G-7 taxpayers assured that they don’t remain on the hook as contingent guarantors of a complex international loan. This approach is supported by many leaders across Europe, but President Biden failed to step up and close the deal. The REPO Act offers certainty, accountability, and maximum flexibility in crafting financial alternatives to benefit Ukraine. It is fully superior to the Rube Goldberg scheme cooked up by the G-7 chefs in Italy. |
