{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://stanton.house.gov/2022/9/stanton-introduces-bill-to-prevent-taxpayer-dollars-from-being-used-to-maintain-seized-russian-luxury-assets", "Stanton Introduces Bill to Prevent Taxpayer Dollars From Being Used to Maintain Seized Russian Luxury Assets", "2022-09-21", "2022", "2022-09", "Democrat", "House", "AZ", "Greg Stanton", "S001211", "stanton.house.gov", "stanton", "https://stanton.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Rep. Greg Stanton this week introduced H.R. 8905, the No Taxpayer Dollars for Russian Oligarchs Act to prohibit federal funds from being used to pay for the upkeep of luxury assets\u2014like superyachts, cars and private jets\u2014seized in the aftermath of Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.\n\n\u201cThe American taxpayer shouldn't pay for the upkeep of lavish, luxury goods stripped from kleptocrats who prop up a war criminal,\u201d Stanton said.\n\nIn June, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was caught on a hot mic saying, \"The federal government pays for upkeep because under the kind of forfeiture rubric, so like some people are basically being paid to maintain Russian superyachts on behalf of the U.S. government.\"\n\nMore than a dozen yachts have been seized from Russian oligarchs since the invasion began, and at least two of those were seized at the direction of the United States. These yachts, worth $2.5 billion, have to be maintained during the years-long civil forfeiture process before they be sold\u2014and American taxpayers are footing the bill.\n\nMaintenance bills are not inexpensive; annual upkeep for a yacht can cost 10% per year of the yacht\u2019s overall value according to the New York Times. That can mean millions of dollars a year. Owners are supposed to pay for the upkeep, even after seizure, but few do.\n\nThe No Taxpayer Dollars for Russian Oligarchs Act would:", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:08:33Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://stanton.house.gov/2022/9/stanton-introduces-bill-to-prevent-taxpayer-dollars-from-being-used-to-maintain-seized-russian-luxury-assets"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8513210341334343, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}