Senators May Revise Republic of Georgia Sanctions Bill

The Senate’s proposed Georgian People’s Act will be modified “if needed” to ensure those responsible for “fraud and manipulation” in the country's recent parliamentary elections “are held accountable,” Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said in a joint statement this week.

Shaheen, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Risch, the committee's ranking member, said they were “alarmed by the dozens of reports of election day interference, including violence, voter intimidation and ballot stuffing.” The Georgia bill, which they introduced in May, would sanction officials for corruption, human rights abuses and anti-democratic efforts (see 2410250043 and 2405140073).

Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., who chairs Foreign Relations, and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, expressed similar concerns about the elections. Cardin said he will work with the Biden administration "to determine the appropriate response in the U.S.-Georgian relationship." McCaul said he "will continue to monitor the situation closely.”

In July, McCaul’s committee approved the Mobilizing and Enhancing Georgia’s Options for Building Accountability, Resilience, and Independence (MEGOBARI) Act, which would sanction officials who undermine democracy in Georgia (see 2407100058).