Michigan congressman Dan Kildee recently co-sponsored legislation that would give President Biden the authority to seize yachts, mansions, and private jets of Russian oligarchs. WCMU reporter Rick Brewer spoke with Rep. Kildee last Friday to discuss the legislation and the future of the NATO alliance.
This transcript has been edited for clarity.
Rick Brewer: Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to the Congress this week. Obviously, very emotional speech. A standing ovation was given. What was your biggest takeaway from the speech?
Rep. Dan Kildee: Well, first of all, it was a powerful message. The biggest takeaway was that President Zelensky laid out in very stark terms the human costs of Vladimir Putin's aggressive attack on this sovereign country. He showed a video, which was painful to watch, very compelling. I guess if there was a message that was loud and clear is that the rest of the world needs to do more to stop Vladimir Putin. And it spurred a conversation within Congress about how much farther we should go. I think there is more we can do. I do believe that we have to be careful not to escalate a shooting war between the U.S. and Russia turns into World War III. But, that doesn't mean we can't do more.
RB: For those who don't know, you are a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. You're currently co-sponsoring a bill that would give President Biden the authority to seize Russian assets. That might be things like ships, yachts, property that could then be liquidated and used as humanitarian aid to support the Ukrainian people. Is this another step in the right direction of aiding them more? And what is the status of that legislation?
DK: It is. It's been introduced and we hope to have a hearing on this and move forward on it fairly quickly. The way I tell people to think about the legislation I've introduced is to think about it the same way we go after organized crime. Because this is what Vladimir Putin is. He's the head of a crime syndicate that also happens to have control of the of the country of Russia. But these are thugs. He's like a gang boss. And he's got these oligarchs around him who made billions of dollars through criminal activity, basically. And now we see these war crimes being perpetrated, as a result. So, our view is we connect the assets that Putin and those around him have to the criminal activity that allowed them to assemble that wealth. We seize those assets, we sell them, we take the money to help rebuild Ukraine.
RB: How far should the U.S. go to achieve peace in eastern Europe?
DK: Well, I think we need to pursue, obviously, diplomatic efforts as best we can. I think one of the things has been a remarkable success, despite the tragedy of the moment, is how quickly Europe has unified, not just Europe, but the world is unified around this coalition to defeat Putin. I mean, other than a handful of countries. The world is unified.
RB: In an interview on WCMU Public Television's Capitol Report, you said this invasion should prompt new questions about the role of NATO and its geography. Article five of the NATO Treaty currently does not permit the immediate assistance of a non-NATO member. Do you think the treaty should be amended to allow immediate assistance to help prevent future invasions in a country like Moldova?
DK: Well, I think when a NATO member is threatened by an attack on a neighboring country, it does beg the question as to whether simply sitting back and not taking action is a pennywise and pound foolish approach. So, I don't want to get ahead of any discussions about the charter of NATO. Because right now, I think the Alliance is working as hard as it can to hold itself together. I do think there will be additions to NATO. I think some of the north Atlantic states, Finland, Sweden, others, may see this as a possible addition. The question of Ukraine itself is another question that has to do with what we want to do to not accelerate this war and inflame the situation. But, I do think these alliances are important and strategically, being able to take whatever action is necessary to prevent the NATO allies from being threatened would be would be a logical thing to consider.
RB: Congressman Dan Kildee, thank you so much for your time.
DK: My pleasure. Thank you.
