WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of US senators introduced a bill on Wednesday that would impose stiff new sanctions on Russia over its meddling in US elections and aggression against Ukraine, the latest congressional effort to push President Donald Trump to ratchet up Washington’s response to Moscow.
It was introduced by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, as well as other members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It is a tougher version of legislation – dubbed the “sanctions bill from hell” by Graham – the two lawmakers backed last year but which failed to pass.
The new bill, which was first reported by Reuters, may have a better chance of passing Congress now, either as a whole or as amendments to other legislation, in the face of growing bipartisan anger over Russia’s interference in other countries’ affairs.
Trump, who has gone along with some previous congressional efforts to increase sanctions on Russia, though sometimes reluctantly, would have to sign the bill before it became law.
“President Trump’s willful paralysis in the face of Kremlin aggression has reached a boiling point in Congress,” Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the bill.
Targets of the sanctions would include: Russian banks that support efforts to interfere in foreign elections; the country’s cyber sector; new sovereign debt; and individuals deemed to “facilitate illicit and corrupt activities, directly or indirectly, on behalf of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin.” (Reuters)
