The ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee said April 12 that he has asked the Treasury Department to provide “an accounting of all international high-value Iranian assets around the world that are currently blocked by U.S. sanctions.”
Republican Sens. Ted Budd of North Carolina, Joni Ernst of Iowa and Rick Scott of Florida introduced a bill April 9 that would require the State Department to review and consider terminating Qatar’s status as a major non-NATO ally.
Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, on April 9 introduced a bill that would increase resources for detecting, investigating and preventing violations of U.S. export controls.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said April 8 that Congress should require China’s ByteDance to divest TikTok because the popular social media application is "beholden to our foremost strategic competitor."
Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., introduced a bill April 5 that would direct the State Department to designate the MS-13 international criminal gang a foreign terrorist organization. The legislation was referred to the House Judiciary Committee. Further details weren't immediately available.
The Biden administration’s pause on pending decisions for liquefied natural gas exports has forced an LNG project in Port Arthur, Texas, to suspend its expansion plans, jeopardizing thousands of local jobs, Rep. Randy Weber, R-Texas, said April 5.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is calling on the Biden administration to reimpose sanctions on Venezuela’s government for arresting political opposition leaders and blocking presidential candidate Maria Corina Machado from this year’s election.
When the Senate returns from its two-week recess on April 8, it will have an opportunity to “work on a path forward on TikTok legislation” in addition to addressing a host of other matters, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said April 5 in a “Dear Colleague” letter.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee, and 12 other Republican senators criticized the Biden administration’s renewal of an Iran sanctions waiver last month, saying the move will help Tehran fund terrorism.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who has opposed the proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel Corp. by Japan-based Nippon Steel Corp. since it was announced in December (see 2312200056), said April 2 that a new report about Nippon Steel’s ties to China provides another reason for the Biden administration to reject the deal.