Congressman French Hill backs Treasury sanctions and urges broader legislation to pressure Russia

Republican Congressman French Hill said he fully supports Treasury Department sanctions on two major Russian oil companies and urged Congress to pass further measures to increase economic pressure on Russia. "I fully support the actions taken by the treasury department today," he said in a television interview.

Hill told the host that Congress should "stack up all the arrows in our quiver," naming bills by Sen. Lindsey Graham and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick that would target people and entities trading with Russia. He also described a measure he called the "Peace Act," which he said his committee marked up and passed by a 53–1 vote. Hill said the Peace Act would sanction additional oil and gas firms, including Gazprom, and convert frozen Russian assets into cash that could be used for "weapon purposes and economic support of the Ukrainians." "It converts, the repo assets, those seized Russian assets that are frozen," he said.

Hill framed the approach as giving U.S. and European leaders additional options while leaving the president discretion over use. "He can decide not to use them, but I'd like for Putin to see firsthand that our bipartisan bicameral basis, Congress wants Putin out of Ukraine and wants this war over," Hill said.

The interview did not present legislative text or implementation details for how converted assets would be transferred or which agencies would oversee distribution; Hill described the conversion in general terms and cited the committee vote as evidence of bipartisan support in his panel. The segment did not include comments from other lawmakers or from Treasury or Defense officials.

What happens next: Hill urged passage of the named bills in the House; no formal House floor action was reported in the interview itself. The measures he referenced vary in status and would require additional steps before any asset transfers or new sanctions take effect.