Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012

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Mr. NEAL. Thank you, Mr. Levin.

Madam Speaker, after more than 18 years of negotiations, Russia joined the World Trade Organization this past August. WTO membership will require Russia, for the first time, to play by the same rules of trade as the United States and virtually every other nation in the world. This is a significant development, and it's critical that Congress approve permanent normal trade relations with Russia so that U.S. companies can benefit from these reforms.

Russian PNTR also is a jobs bill. The President's Export Council estimates that U.S. exports of goods and services to Russia would double or triple once Russia joins WTO. Greater exports mean more jobs, and that's exactly what our economy needs right now. A reminder: Last year, the fastest growing part of the American economy was exports, which grew by almost 6 percent.

Let me conclude by expressing my support for important provisions in the PNTR legislation that address the Russian Government's expropriation of the large oil company, Yukos.

When Russian authorities dissolved Yukos and took over its assets, Yukos investors, including 20,000 individual American investors, many from my home State of Massachusetts, received nothing. I'm pleased that PNTR legislation requires USTR and the State Department to provide an annual report to Congress on the steps they are taking to advocate for American investors in Yukos. This reporting requirement is critical because Russia must be pressed to make good on the money it owes American investors.

Madam Speaker, I actually, for a long period of time, had a bracelet that I wore and kept in my office--and still have--based upon one of the issues at the time that led to Jackson-Vanik, and it was the ability and right of Soviet Jewry to emigrate from Russia if they so desire, and we are addressing that issue today. It was one of the human rights champions that we're witnessing today that allowed this to happen. And I think that you can see how far diplomacy can extend when it's beneficial to the United States, but also on the issue of emigration at that particular time. It was America and the American dimension that helped to transform that particular moment.

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