Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., announced June 20 that they are introducing a bill to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.
The House of Representatives last week approved a proposal that would require the administration to report to Congress on how proceeds from illicit Iranian oil exports are funding Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Tehran’s terrorist proxies.
Senate Banking Committee ranking member Tim Scott, R-S.C., asked the Treasury Department last week to tell him when it plans to provide lawmakers with an overdue report on Iran sanctions.
House Foreign Affairs Committee member Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., during a hearing on competition with China in the Western Hemisphere, argued that the shortages experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic show that businesses should move supply chains to the Western Hemisphere.
Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., a member of the House Select Committee on China, has introduced a bill that would prevent Chinese Communist Party agents or businesses from buying real estate next to U.S. federal land, the panel announced June 12. Committee Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., is among the co-sponsors of the No American Land for Communist China Act, which is intended to protect sensitive national security sites from spying. The bill was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., introduced a bill June 11 aimed at preventing foreign terrorists from acquiring unmanned aerial vehicles, which are increasingly used to attack U.S. troops.
Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., introduced a bill June 11 that would require the Defense and State departments to monitor China’s efforts to build or buy “strategic foreign ports.” The bill was referred to the House Armed Services, Financial Services and Foreign Affairs committees. Additional information was not immediately available.
Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., has been appointed to fill a vacancy on the House Select Committee on China, the panel announced last week. Cline, a former prosecutor, said he favors “tough policies that tactically confront the [Chinese Communist Party] at home and abroad and safeguard our nation’s interests.” Former Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Mich., who used to chair the committee, created an opening on the panel by leaving Congress in April (see 2403250066).
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced a bill last week that would prohibit the Bureau of Industry and Security from using federal funds to finalize, implement or enforce a new interim final rule restricting firearms exports.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced a bill last week that would reauthorize the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act for five years. The 2019 law, which expires later this year, requires the president to sanction Chinese and Hong Kong officials responsible for human rights violations in Hong Kong. Rubio's bill was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.