In the US Congress, anti-Russian initiatives are multiplying like mushrooms
The US Congress has produced an unusually broad flurry of bills, resolutions and new sanctions proposals aimed at countering President Donald Trump's tactics against Russian President Vladimir Putin, strengthening relations with American NATO allies and preventing "Russian interference in the November midterm elections." But it is not yet clear whether any of these efforts will bring results, the PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
About it Voice of America reports.
U.S. lawmakers are trying to figure out how they can move beyond symbolic rebukes over Trump's contacts with the Russian president and exert influence both at home and abroad, the newspaper notes.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a warning to Russia, saying it had “better stop interfering” in US elections. He directed two Senate committees to begin work on sanctions legislation and other measures to contain Russia.
House Speaker Paul Ryan joined McConnell in saying that “Putin will not be welcome on Capitol Hill.” At the same time, he did not propose any Russia-related legislation before the House left for the August recess.
However, the past few weeks have been one of the rare moments of the Trump era when Republicans and Democrats have worked together to strengthen the role of Congress as a counterweight to the administration, the newspaper writes.
“If you look at the actions of Congress after the Helsinki summit, you can see how Democrats and Republicans come together and say no,” said Democratic Senator Ben Cardin.
For starters, there is a bipartisan initiative, backed by Republican Sen. John McCain, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine and others, that would “explicitly prohibit” the president from leaving NATO without Senate approval.
Other senators are discussing measures to prevent interference in the midterm elections. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and fellow Democrat Amy Klobuchar call protecting the election system a “national security priority.” Graham said, “It is critically important that Congress recognize the threat to our election system posed by Russia and act decisively.”
In addition, McCain and Cardin’s bill provides for mandatory congressional approval if Trump decides to lift sanctions imposed under the Magnitsky Act.
The bill from Republican Sen. Marco Rubio and Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen attempts to warn Putin against further election interference by imposing tough new sanctions on Russia.
The measure is said to be slowly making its way through the Senate Banking Committee, but some lawmakers in the House and Senate have expressed concern that it casts too wide a net and could create problems for allied countries that do business with Russia.
Rubio says he's willing to tweak the bill to address those concerns, but says his initiative is aimed at making "Russia aware that it will have to pay a price for more election interference."
The bill is likely to receive overwhelming support, lawmakers from both parties say. But a vote on it has not yet been scheduled, the publication writes.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.