FOREIGN POLICY/RUSSIA: “The Senate late Monday [6-12-17] evening unveiled a package of additional economic sanctions on Russia, aiming to punish Moscow for its military activities in Europe and the Middle East as well as its alleged attempts to interfere in democratic elections across the West.
A bipartisan group of senators said the new legislation would impose new restrictions on Russian actors linked to human-rights abuses, arms sales to the Syrian government or malicious cyberattacks on behalf of the Russian government.
The bill would also require the president to seek congressional permission to relax the current regime of sanctions against Russia, possibly limiting President Donald Trump’s leeway to improve relations between Washington and Moscow.
The sanctions package was hammered out by the bipartisan leadership of the Senate Banking and Foreign Relations Committees and could set up an unusual showdown between Congress and President Trump’s administration…
The key outlines of the deal were described in broad terms in a press release issued late Monday, with more details expected this week. The proposed legislation would also allow the U.S. to impose broad new sanctions on economic sectors in Russia including mining, metals, shipping and railways. The proposed bill also grants new assistance to help shore up democratic institutions across the West, which have been targeted by a series of cyberattacks, propaganda and misinformation campaigns.”
-Byron Tau, “Senate Draws Up Bill to Impose More Sanctions on Russia,” The Wall Street Journal online, June 13, 2017 12:36am