Congress to Consider Russia, Nord Stream 2 Sanctions Bills
Lawmakers are expected to vote this week on a bill from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, that would sanction companies associated with the Russia-backed Nord Stream 2 pipeline to punish Russia for threatening to further invade Ukraine. But an alternative bill from Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., could instead impose a host of broad economic penalties against Russia’s banking sector and various government officials.
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Cruz’s bill, introduced in December, would require sanctions against any entity responsible for the planning, construction or operation of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The Biden administration has urged Democrats to vote against the bill, according to a Jan. 10 Reuters report, because new sanctions on the pipeline could harm U.S. relations with Germany, which also backs the gas project.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he doesn't believe the Biden administration’s argument. “I don’t buy that,” Graham told reporters in a brief hallway interview Jan. 11. “The whole idea of not standing up to the Nord Stream 2 project early on was, I think, to accommodate Russia.” He added that he plans to “soon” introduce his own Russia sanctions bill to impose immediate consequences against Russia for its “military buildup.”
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said he doesn't support the gas pipeline but suggested he won’t vote in favor of Cruz’s bill. “While I'm no fan of Nord Stream 2, I think it's important to support the Biden administration's foreign policy work in this area,” he told reporters Jan. 11. The Biden administration has said the sanctions would do little to stop the nearly completed pipeline from being finished (see 2106070065).
Menendez said his bill, expected soon, offers an alternative method to punish Russia by authorizing a host of new sanctions against the country if it decides to further invade Ukraine. Menendez, in a brief hallway interview with reporters, called it the “the mother of all sanctions legislation.” The bill will impose “sanctions beyond those that we have normally levied. Sectoral sanctions, individual sanctions, banking sanctions, a whole host of them that would be poised and ready to go,” Menendez said Jan. 10.
Several House Republicans this week also released their own version of a bill that would punish Russia for military actions in Ukraine. The Guaranteeing Ukrainian Autonomy by Reinforcing its Defense Act of 2022 would “immediately” sanction the Nord Stream 2 pipeline “to stop it from ever becoming operational” and authorize more military support for Ukraine. The bill, introduced by Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas and other Republicans, would specifically “strengthen targeted sanctions” against Nord Stream 2 and provide Congress with veto power if the Biden administration decides to waive certain Russian sanctions related to the pipeline.