Posts Tagged ‘Cardin’
US Senate Committee Ties Jackson-Vanik to Magnitsky Bill
The United States Congress finance committee has linked a draft bill on repealing the Jackson-Vanik Amendment and a change in Russia’s status to a free trade nation to the draft “Magnitsky bill,” the committee said on Wednesday.
A Senate vote on the joint law will take place in the next few hours.
“Committee Chairman Baucus released a modified mark of his bill to establish permanent normal trade relations with Russia and remove Russia from the 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment,” a source in Washington told RIA Novosti. “The mark includes the Magnitsky Act, as passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.”
The text of the joint bill also has “small alterations,” on electronic trade, the source added.
The introduction of the combined bill to the committee is a technicality, as Baucus presented his draft bill to the Senate on July 12, and on July 14 a source in the committee administration confirmed to RIA Novosti that it would be this joint bill which would be put to the vote on Wednesday.
Several senators have already expressed strong support for the bill.
The new bill is a response to the demands of a majority of lawmakers for a review of legislation affecting trade and human rights issues, including some laws affecting trade with Russia.
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U.S. Congressmen Unmoved By Russian Visit To Protest Magnitsky Bill
U.S. congressmen appear to be unmoved following the visit of a Russian delegation to Washington this week aimed at protesting pending U.S. sanctions over the death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.
Describing the Russian initiative as “too late,” the congressmen told RFE/RL that they expected the legislation to be signed into law. The move would deny visas to dozens of Russian officials implicated in Magnitsky’s death and also freeze any U.S. assets they may hold.
Senator Roger Wicker (Republican-Mississippi) is a member of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, where the Magnitsky legislation was first initiated.
“The reports about this tragedy are not isolated,” he said. “There have been two independent reports inside Russia that indicated this was a violation of Mr. Magnitsky’s rights and an abusive process.
“So it’s going to be very difficult, I think, for one packet of information provided by a group of Russian [lawmakers] to overcome the huge body of information.”
Wicker was one of several U.S. lawmakers who met with Aleksei Chernyshev, Vitaly Malkin, Aleksandr Savenkov, and Valery Shnyakin — all members of Russia’s upper house of parliament, the Federation Council.
The delegation was in the U.S. capital to present the findings of a “preliminary parliamentary investigation” into the case of the deceased lawyer.
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Baucus Announces Markup of Jobs Bill Establishing Permanent Normal Trade Relations with Russia
US Senate Committee on Finance
With Russia Joining the WTO, Finance Chairman’s Mark Will Enable U.S. Businesses to Capitalize on Increased Market Access.
Washington, DC – Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) today released his Chairman’s Mark of a bill to establish permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with Russia and remove Russia from the 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment, which will enable U.S. businesses to capitalize on Russia’s growing market. Baucus also scheduled a markup to take place at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 18,in Room 215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Baucus’s bill would support and create thousands of U.S. jobs across every sector of the American economy, including manufacturing, agriculture and services, by helping double U.S. exports to Russia within five years.
“Increasing our exports to Russia will help create new jobs and give America’s economy the shot in the arm it needs. Our exports to Russia will double within the next five years if we pass PNTR soon, which will mean thousands of jobs supported or created across the country. And this economic boost will come at no cost to us whatsoever. We will not have to change one single tariff or trade law,” Baucus said. “Russia is joining the WTO no matter what Congress does – their legislature has already voted and put the wheels in motion – so we need to act soon. My bill will put American businesses, farmers, ranchers and workers in a position to succeed and grow, and that’s exactly what our economy and workers need.”
Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, recently approved an agreement to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). Russia’s upper house, the Federation Council, is expected to take up the measure soon, after which Russia will officially join the WTO 30 days later. As part of the “accession” process, as it is known, Russia will lower tariffs and increase market access for foreign businesses from countries with which it has permanent normal trade relations. Congress must pass legislation establishing PNTR by the time Russia joins the WTO for U.S. businesses to see the full economic benefits of the deal.
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Magnitsky bill opens door to wider targets
When the Magnitsky bill first started making its way through the US Congress a couple of years ago, its authors had one target in mind: to punish Russian officials behind the death of Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer who blew the whistle on a government corruption case and died in jail.
With human rights causes, however, one powerful example can sometimes open the door to much broader action. This could well happen with the Magnitsky bill. As the legislation gets closer to passage – potentially this month – the human rights lobby is on the verge of winning an important tool to influence US foreign policy.
While Russian corruption was the initial target, some in Congress are already thinking about other causes it can be used to pursue. And they have some big fish in mind. “If the bill stays as it is at the moment,” says one Senate staff member involved with the legislation, “this will be as much about China as it is about Russia.”When Magnitsky was doing some legal work for the Hermitage investment group, he discovered evidence that a group of Russian officials had effectively stolen $230m in tax payments made by Hermitage. When he detailed his allegations, he was arrested in late 2008 and accused of fraud.
Nearly a year later, he died in jail after being denied medical treatment.
Two years ago, a couple of Democrats in Congress started to push a bill that named the 60 Russian officials and police officers they said were behind Magnitsky’s death.
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Russian delegation hits Washington to lobby against “Magnitsky” sanctions
The Russians are coming to Washington; in fact, they are already here. But they aren’t happy.
A Russian parliamentary delegation is in the U.S. capital to lobby American lawmakers against a bill sanctioning Russian officials implicated in human rights abuses — a move Moscow considers offensive outside interference in its affairs.
After some meetings on Capitol Hill, the four-man Russian delegation on Wednesday did not have a lot of progress to report from their lobbying against the “Magnitsky bill,” named after Sergei Magnitsky, an anti-corruption Russian lawyer who died in 2009 after a year in Russian jails.
But they had a warning.
“We really don’t want that the U.S. Congress adopts this bill that has the potential to deteriorate U.S.-Russia relations for years or even for decades to come. It will become a real irritant in U.S.-Russia relations,” delegation member Vitaly Malkin told reporters, speaking through a translator at the Russian embassy.
A Russian parliamentary investigation into the Magnitsky case is underway, the group said, displaying a dossier with what they said were the preliminary findings.
The Magnitsky bill pending in Congress would require the United States to deny visas and freeze the assets of Russians linked to Magnitsky’s death, as well as those of other human rights abusers in Russia. The Senate version, sponsored by Democrat Ben Cardin, would extend the sanctions to human rights abusers anywhere in the world.
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International group urges sanctions on Russians
An international body devoted to security and democracy Sunday chided Russia—one of its 56 members—on its human rights record and urged governments to impose sanctions by banning visas and freezing the assets of Russians connected to the death of a crusading lawyer named Sergei Magnitsky.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), representing the United States at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe, which was convened in Monaco, spoke urgently in favor of the resolution approved Sunday, calling Magnitsky’s death an example of pervasive and systemic corruption in Russia.
A similar law, named in memory of Magnitsky, is already making its way through Congress, with the energetic support of Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D.-Md.), who is vice president of the OSCE parliamentary assembly.
Magnitsky was working for an American law firm in Moscow, advising the Hermitage Capital investment firm on tax issues, when he uncovered a $230 million tax fraud. After he accused tax officials and police investigators of the crime, Magnitsky was arrested and charged instead. He died in 2009 after a year in pre-trial detention, denied medical care and showing signs of having been beaten. “Not one person has been held responsible,” McCain said, calling Magnitsky’s treatment tantamount to torture.
Russia put up a spirited defense Sunday, arguing that an investigation of Magnitsky’s death was very much underway and that the sanctions amounted to conviction by public opinion rather than a court of law. It was overruled by an overwhelming show of hands in favor of the resolution.
Speaker after speaker criticized official impunity, the lack of a convincing investigation and the absence of punishment for Magnitsky’s death. He was 37 when he died.
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Magnitsky bill and Russian national interests
Valdaiclub.com interview with Nikolai Zlobin, Senior Fellow and Director of the Russia and Asia Programs at the World Security Institute in Washington, D.C., member of the Valdai Discussion Club.
What do you think is the likelihood that President Obama will veto the bill on visa sanctions against the Russians who are allegedly involved in human rights violations (the Magnitsky list)?
Vetoing this bill by the president of the United States is highly unlikely. The White House and the State Department have made an administrative decision with regard to this issue a long time ago. This list has been used by the State Department for a fairly long time, and these people are banned from entering the United States.
Many in the U.S. administration are saying that this move is more pro-Russian than anti-Russian. Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev have on many occasions stated the need to combat corruption. Therefore, the Americans are thus helping them by not letting in people who committed crimes in Russia and are seeking refuge abroad. These people will be unable to leave Russia and won’t be allowed to transfer their money, families or property to the United States.
If President Obama vetoes this bill, it will trigger a violent reaction in Congress, primarily among the Republicans, who are seeking to discredit his Russia policy, because he and his administration spearheaded this list. If Obama vetoes it, it will cause a huge wave of criticism.
Do you think the Magnitsky List will be expanded? When will the names on this list be disclosed?
Each country can decide who and when can cross its borders without providing any explanations. The fact that the list is being adopted by Congress as legislation makes it more stable. Otherwise, it could have been modified to accommodate internal instructions from U.S. officials. This will not happen to the Magnitsky List.
Once Congress passes the bill, they will no longer be able to keep the names on this list secret. Under the Freedom of Information Act, any journalist, including from Russia, will be able to request the names.
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Magnitsky Act’s sponsor may be denied entrance to Russia
U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, the sponsor of the contentious Magnitsky Act, may be denied entrance to Russia, Izvestia daily reports on Monday.
The newspaper says Russia’s parliament is discussing a large group of individuals, including the U.S. Consul General in Vladivostok Douglas Kent, as well as Drug Enforcement Agency officers Scott Hacker and Derek Odney, who are involved in the case of Russian businessman Viktor Bout.
Entry may be denied under draft law On Measures against Individuals Involved in Violation of Russian Citizens’ Rights Abroad, talk of which may soon be resumed in parliament.
The draft was submitted to the lower house in June 2011 and it may be adopted if the United States passes the Magnitsky Act.
Some MPs do not consider it an appropriate response to Washington. Deputy foreign relations committee head Leonid Kalashnikov thinks that a more radical step is required.
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Magnitsky showdown nears
The Foreign Relations Committee of the U.S. Senate backed on Tuesday the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, which, if passed by Congress and the U.S. president, will impose sanctions on some 60 Russian officials.
The bill will deny entry to the United States and freeze the accounts of those allegedly responsible for the persecution and death of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who was allegedly killed in jail in 2009 after exposing a graft scheme for a tax refund of $230 million set up by a group of Russian law enforcers, tax officers and judges.
Supported unanimously by the Senate’s panel, the bill has fairly good chances of being adopted. “The White House has never indicated an inclination to veto this legislation,” the office of the bill’s sponsor, Senator Ben Cardin, told The Moscow News.
The only way the bill can be withdrawn is if Russia starts a murder investigation into the death of Magnitsky and the crime he exposed, U.S. lawmakers say.
“If Russia was to prosecute those responsible for Sergei Magnitsky’s death, there would no longer be a need to include those individuals on the public list,” Cardin’s office said.
However, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office started a criminal case against Magnitsky himself last August, charging him with embezzlement of the same $230 million in tax refunds.
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