U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has expressed hope that the upper chamber of Congress will pass a bill imposing tough sanctions on Russia before the August recess.
This was reported by The Hill, as cited by Ukrinform.
“I hope that we can get it on the floor before the August recess. We are working with the administration, with the House to try and get it in a form where it’s ready,” Thune told reporters.
He emphasized that there is strong bipartisan support for the bill in the Senate.
“Obviously, there’s a tremendous amount of bipartisan support here in the Senate. I think that’s shared in the House of Representatives, at least I hope that it is. The White House is very engaged in trying to get it in a form that we can transact and [get] across the floor of the Senate. Whether that happens in the next couple of weeks is a bit of an open question, but I’m hopeful that it can,” Thune added.
The bill, introduced by Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal, would impose sanctions on Russia and secondary sanctions on countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas, uranium, and other products. It also proposes a 500% tariff on goods from any country that imports sanctioned Russian products.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson previously told reporters that he is open to considering the bill.
“I don’t know any details yet but I know there’s an interest in that in the House side, so we’ll have to see. Vladimir Putin has shown an unwillingness to be reasonable and to talk seriously about brokering a peace, and I think we have to send them a message, that’s my view,” Johnson said.
As reported earlier, Senator Lindsey Graham said the Senate would soon pass a comprehensive sanctions package not only against Russia but also against China and India, which are among the largest buyers of Russian energy.
Photo: pexels.com
Source: U.S. Senate hopes to pass Russia sanctions bill before August recess
