New Russia Penalties Face ‘Sanctions Fatigue’ in U.S. Congress
8 апреля2019 г. 8:01:00
Tough talk about the need to punish Russia for meddling in the 2016 U.S. election is running into the reality that Congress’s enthusiasm for additional sanctions is waning.
“We face a little bit of sanctions fatigue around here these days,” said Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, the sponsor of one of the bills aimed at Russia. “Hopefully we’ll get more people on board.”
Two main proposals are circulating aimed at increasing pressure on Russian individuals and companies by restricting their access to U.S. markets and capital. Both Senate bills received significant attention in 2018 after President Donald Trump failed to condemn Russia for its election meddling, but they lost steam after November’s midterm elections and aren’t moving any faster in this year’s Congress.
Many lawmakers still want Russia to face stronger consequences for its actions in the U.S. and elsewhere, but there’s no clear consensus on how to send the right message to the Kremlin. Two other factors add to the hesitation: concern about unintended economic consequences, and the difficulty of passing legislation in a divided Congress when the measures don’t have the president’s support.
U.S. Readying Russia Sanctions for U.K. Poison Attack, Sources Say
Updated on Move is in response to 2018 nerve-agent attack on Skripal
U.S. official has said sanctions to include banking sector
2019-03-29 3:47
The White House has received a long-awaited package of new sanctions on Russia, intended to punish the Kremlin for a 2018 nerve-agent attack on a former Russian spy in the U.K.
U.S. officials at the State and Treasury departments have vetted the sanctions and are awaiting approval from the White House to issue them, according to two people familiar with the matter who discussed the internal deliberations on condition of anonymity.
The State Department said in September that it had expected to impose the financial restrictions in November. Some members of Congress argue that the sanctions are required under the 1991 Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act, after the Kremlin was found to be responsible for the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in 2018, using a Russian-developed toxin from a class called Novichok.