Strong Message to the Kremlin: Overwhelming House Vote to Block Trump’s Russian Sanctions Relief
***Press Release***
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 17, 2019 | Contact: Kate Stotesbery 202-225-4865 |
Strong Message to the Kremlin: Overwhelming House Vote to Block Trump's Russian Sanctions Relief
Washington, D.C. — Today—the deadline for Congress to block the Trump Administration's lifting of sanctions on Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska's companies—Congressman Doggett spoke on the House floor in support of today's vote on a resolution of disapproval. In an overwhelming bipartisan vote, the House just voted to block sanctions relief for certain sanctioned Russian companies. The Senate should now do the same. This vote should rejuvenate a Senate effort supported by all Democrats and 11 Republicans, which fell only two Republican votes short for cloture yesterday. Congressman Lloyd Doggett's speech in full is here and, in part, below:
"If only President Trump were as eager to reopen our government as he is to reopen this sanctioned Russian company. The sanctions law against Russians, enacted over President Trump's objection, was designed to deter Russian aggression against our democracy and beyond—to change Russian misconduct, not to yield right of way.
Each day of chaos is another day when Vladimir Putin's investment in Trump's election pays bigger dividends in the drive to undermine Western democracies. Let's send a strong, bipartisan message not just to the White House but to the Kremlin."
Last spring, as part of a House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee review of the Trump Administration's aluminum and steel national security tariff policy, Congressman Doggett questioned the lifting of sanctions on Rusal. In July, he questioned the granting a tariff exemption for its affiliate Rusal USA a mere three days after the Putin/Trump Helsinki summit, ahead of thousands of American requests. Amidst a New York Times investigation, the Administration subsequently withdrew the exemption. Additional reporting yesterday revealed that Rusal is now headed by a cheerleader for the Russian occupation of Crimea—which was, of course, a part of the reason for the sanctions that the United States imposed.
Follow Lloyd Doggett
Facebook: https://www.Facebook.com/RepLloydDoggett | Twitter: @RepLloydDoggett | Instagram:@RepLloydDoggett