US Congress passes bill to ban Russian energy imports

The US Congress passed two bipartisan bills on Thursday to punish Russia for invading Ukraine, suspending normal trade relations with the country and banning imports of oil, coal and natural gas.

The Senate voted unanimously on both bills. Only three members — Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and Matt Gaetz of Florida — opposed both bills.

The bills will be forwarded to President Joe Biden for his signature, after he called for the punitive measures last month.

While the House has already overwhelmingly passed similar bills, the Senate has been involved for weeks with the legislation, making some changes and requiring the House to vote again this Thursday.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has opposed proposed changes to the Magnitsky Global Act, fearing the new language would give the executive branch too much power to prosecute those accused of human rights abuses.

The Senate eventually caved to Paul’s demands, keeping the statute more narrowly defined on human rights violations, but made the language permanent, despite the wishes of some Republicans.

“Today, when Putin commits war crimes against the people of Ukraine, the unanimous approval of the permanent reauthorization of GloMag sends a strong signal to him and other dictators and kleptocrats that there will be personal consequences for human rights violators and corrupt actors,” he said. Maryland Democratic Senator Ben Cardin.

“The United States of America does not set a time limit for defending human rights and fighting corruption,” he said.

The trade relations and energy ban laws are the latest congressional efforts to clamp down on Russia and help Ukraine during the conflict. On Wednesday night, the Senate passed a bill to more quickly provide military aid to Ukraine.

The congressional measures come a day after the government announced sanctions on Russia’s biggest financial institutions and the number of individuals linked to the Kremlin, including Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two adult daughters, as it seeks to increase economic pressure on Russia and Putin himself after images of the Ukrainian city of Bucha.

The US also announced sanctions against the wife and daughter of Putin’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The UK later announced its own sanctions, and the European Union (EU) is also expected to follow suit, increasing Western pressure on Moscow as the war enters its second month.

Source: CNN Brasil

You may also like