FOREIGN POLICY/HOUSE OF REPS/IRAN/RUSSIA: “U.S. House of Representatives Democrats said they would introduce a new version of a Russia and Iran sanctions bill on Wednesday [7-12-17], in a new bid to move legislation that has been mired in partisan squabbling for almost a month.
Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee plan to introduce in the House on Wednesday a Russia and Iran sanctions bill identical to one that passed the Senate 98-2 on June 15 but has not come up for a vote in the House.
‘It’s identical to the Senate-passed bill,’ a Democratic committee aide said, but since it will be labeled as a House bill it would avoid a procedural issue that prompted House Republican leaders to send the measure back to the Senate.
Democrats accused House Republicans of stalling the bill in order to weaken it after the Trump administration expressed concern about provisions setting up a process for Congress to approve any of Trump’s efforts to ease sanctions on Moscow.
Separately, Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday said he wants to move a strong bill regarding sanctions on Russia as quickly as possible but that the legislation still faced procedural and policy hurdles…
There was no immediate response from Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee on whether they would support the Democratic effort.”
-Patricia Zengerle, “U.S. Democrats in new bid to push Russia and Iran sanctions bill,” Reuters, July 12, 2017 7:46am