A bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill on Thursday to impose stiff new sanctions on Russia and combat cyber crime, the latest effort by lawmakers to punish Moscow over interference in U.S. elections as well as its activities in Syria and Ukraine.
The bill would slap new sanctions on Moscow, require two-thirds Senate approval if President Trump wanted to withdraw from NATO, and force the State Department to determine if Russia is a state sponsor of terrorism.
The legislation comes as lawmakers are increasingly concerned that Russia will try to interfere in the 2018 mid-term elections, where control of Congress hangs in the balance.
“The current sanctions regime has failed to deter Russia from meddling in the upcoming 2018 midterm elections,” said Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of the measure’s lead sponsors. “Our goal is to change the status quo and impose crushing sanctions and other measures against President Putin’s Russia until he ceases and desists meddling in the U.S. electoral process, halts cyber-attacks on U.S. infrastructure, removes Russia from Ukraine, and ceases efforts to create chaos in Syria,” said Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in a statement.
Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) added that the bill is “the next step in tightening the screws on the Kremlin and will bring to bear the full condemnation of the United States Congress so that Putin finally understands at the U.S. will not tolerate his behavior any longer.”
The bill includes restrictions on new Russian sovereign debt transactions, energy, and oil projects and Russian uranium imports and new sanctions on Russian political figures, oligarchs family members and others that “facilitate illicit and corrupt activities” on behalf of Putin.
Congress passed a Russia sanctions bill last summer but some lawmakers chafed at what they saw as President Trump’s reluctance to implement it. Trump signed it only after Congress passed it with a huge majority.
The prospects for the latest measure is not immediately clear. The measure would have to pass both the Senate and House of Representatives and be signed by President Trump to become law.
Mitch McConnell, the Senate’s Republican majority leader, said last month Senate committees should hold hearings on legislation to stop Russia from future election meddling. Both the Banking and Foreign Relations Committees have since scheduled hearings relating to Russia.
