Posts Tagged ‘senate’
Baucus Urges Swift Passage of Bill to Create U.S. Jobs by Expanding Trade with Russia
US Senate Committee on Finance
In a Senate Finance Committee hearing held today, Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) called on Congress to pass his legislation by next month enabling U.S. businesses to pursue new job-creating export opportunities in Russia when it joins the World Trade Organization (WTO) this summer. Baucus introduced the bill last week along with International Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member John Thune (R-S.D.), Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Armed Services Committee Ranking Member John McCain (R-Ariz.). The bill would establish permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with Russia and remove Russia from the 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment, steps necessary for American businesses to capitalize on the new market access Russia must provide as a condition of WTO membership.
“Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization this summer will mean thousands of new jobs and give a boost to our economy here in the United States, but only if we pass Russia Permanent Normal Trade Relations legislation by August. If we don’t pass PNTR, American workers, businesses, farmers and ranchers will lose out to their competitors in China and Europe,” Baucus said. “Unlike a free trade agreement, we will not lower any of our tariffs or change any of our trade laws – it is a one-sided deal in America’s favor. We can’t ignore the host of difficult issues we face with Russia, but failing to pass PNTR will only harm U.S. exporters and the jobs they create. America needs the jobs PNTR will bring.”
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US Senator Baucus says Russia trade vote needed by August
The chairman of the U.S. Senate’s finance committee said on Thursday it was important that Congress approve legislation by August to boost trade relations with Russia, despite concerns over its record on human rights and support for Syria.
“This is a one-sided deal in America’s favor, but only if we act,” Max Baucus said at the start of a hearing on granting “permanent normal trade relations” (PNTR) to America’s former Cold-War foe by lifting a 1974 provision that made favorable U.S. tariff rates on Russian goods dependent on the right of Jews and other religious minorities to emigrate.
“Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization this summer will mean thousands of jobs to the United States, but only if we pass Russian permanent normal trade relations legislation by August,” Baucus said.
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Magnitsky Bill Poised to be Voted into Law
Yesterday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee postponed its vote on the landmark Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, in what is hopefully only a minor setback in the astounding campaign to bring justice to the tormenters and murderers of Magnitsky. This came only two weeks after the House Committee on Foreign Affairs unanimously approved the bill, clearing the path for the proposed legislation to come to a vote in the House. One suspects that this delay, requested by Senator Jim Webb (D-VA), is a consequence of the quiet battle between the White House and Congress over the legislation, which the Obama administration had feared would stymie their much-vaunted “Reset” policy.
Unluckily for Obama—but luckily for dissidents—it doesn’t look like there’s anything that can stop the Magnitsky bill from passing now. The bill has near unanimous support in Congress, and it would be politically impossible for President Obama to veto human rights legislation on this scale.
For readers who are not aware of his case, Sergei Magnitsky was an attorney employed to represent Hermitage Capital, who uncovered an elaborate ruse by government officials whereby Hermitage companies were fraudulently re-registered and used to apply for a tax refund of $230 million. Magnitsky went public with his accusations, and was subsequently pressured into confessing to the theft of the $230 million, and imprisoned without trial in November 2008. During his detention, Magnitsky’s 20 written petitions for medical attention were ignored, and he was left untreated for medical conditions which eventually led to an agonising death—allegedly hastened by torture– on November 16, 2009.
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USTR’s Kirk, Rep. Camp Call For Russia Trade Bill Without Human Rights
Obama administration officials and a key House Republican Wednesday issued a similar message to Congress on the urgency of lifting trade restrictions on Russia, saying the bill should be passed quickly and without including human rights or other provisions.
However, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means committee said the so-called “Magnitsky” bill punishing Russian human-rights violators should be included in any trade legislation, while arguing that the House should hold up on approving the bill until Russia takes steps to help contain the conflict in Syria.
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk told the House panel that lawmakers should act by Aug. 22 or risk putting U.S. companies at a competitive disadvantage when Russia formally joins the World Trade Organization by that date.
“Our priority is for Congress to terminate the Cold-War era Jackson-Vanik amendment as it applies to Russia in a clean bill that enables us to maintain our competitive edge,” Mr. Kirk said in prepared remarks at the hearing. Repealing Jackson-Vanik, a 1974 measure that prevents the U.S. from granting most-favored-nation status to countries that restrict emigration, won’t be a “gift” to Russia, he insisted.
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Obama Remains Obstacle to Sanctions
Senate Democrats corralling bipartisan support for commonsense sanctions legislation are experiencing a bit of déjà vu. In late 2011, the Senate agreed to new Iran sanctions by the widest possible margin: 100-0. Yet the Obama administration sought to delay the sanctions, and then worked to water them down. New Jersey Democrat Bob Menendez finally went public with his frustration toward President Obama for working so hard to protect Iran from the sanctions everyone had agreed to.
Now Senate Democrats are facing the same obstacle–President Obama–in trying to levy penalties on major human rights violators in Russia. Called the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, named after one prominent victim of those rights violators, the bill was sponsored by Ben Cardin and immediately obtained broad support. But on behalf of the Obama administration, John Kerry kept the bill bogged down in committee. So the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed its own version of the bill, and the White House finally dropped its open opposition to the bill. Now, as Reuters reports, Obama is trying to work changes into the bill that would essentially render it useless:
The measure would require the United States to deny visas and freeze the U.S. assets of Russians linked to Magnitsky’s death. The bill as originally written in both the House and Senate would make public the list of offenders and broaden it to include other abusers of human rights in Russia.
A reworked draft circulating in the Senate and obtained by Reuters would allow the list to “contain a classified annex if the Secretary (of State) determines that it is necessary for the national security interests of the United States to do so.”
[…]
Backers of the Magnitsky bill want the list of human rights violators made public both to shame those on the list and to keep them from doing business with U.S. financial institutions.
[…]
“How can an individual’s assets be frozen, if his or her name cannot be disclosed to financial institutions?” the aide asked.
The answer is: they wouldn’t. The move also comes as the bill received an endorsement from the Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union, which supported the Cold War-era Jackson-Vanik amendment sanctioning Russia for its refusal to allow Jews to emigrate. Jackson-Vanik will be repealed this year in order to establish permanent normal trade relations with Moscow as it joins the World Trade Organization. Rights groups here, in Europe, and in Russia want the Magnitsky Act to replace Jackson-Vanik so rights abusers can be sanctioned without disadvantaging American businesses.
The debate about the Magnitsky Act is playing out against the backdrop of Vladimir Putin’s rigged election and post-election crackdown on protesters. Pro-democracy activists and politicians in Russia have been trying to convince Western leaders to show support for their struggle. As opposition politician Garry Kasparov tweeted last night: “Foreign laws that punish Putin’s crooks and thugs are not anti-Russian. They are pro-Russian people and anti-Putin. Critical distinction!”
But as with Iran, the Obama administration remains unmoved by that distinction and continues to try to block sanctions in favor of “engagement.” Yet if Obama is truly dedicated to a policy dominated by engagement, he should take the advice of Nouriel Roubini and Ian Bremmer, writing in the Financial Times about Russia’s pro-Western reformers:
For the moment, the Kremlin has managed to ignore these voices, acting like neither a Bric nor a G8 member in good standing. Washington should not make the same mistake. If U.S. and European leaders genuinely want to build new ties with Moscow, these are the people they should be talking to. hairy women hairy girl https://zp-pdl.com/online-payday-loans-in-america.php https://www.zp-pdl.com быстрые займы на карту
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Senate Committee Postpones Vote on Magnitsky Bill
A Senate committee postponed a vote Tuesday that would punish Russian human-rights violators, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee delayed the vote on the so-called “Magnitsky” bill, named for the lawyer who died in a Russian prison in 2009 after accusing government officials of fraud, on the request of an unspecified committee member.
“There will not be a vote on the Magnitsky bill at today’s business meeting,” said Jodi Seth, a committee aide, confirming the report to Corruption Currents. “We have not yet scheduled the next business meeting, which is when the bill would be brought back up.”
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US Senate panel delays vote on “Magnitsky” sanctions on Russia
A Senate panel on Tuesday postponed by one week a vote on a measure to penalize Russian officials for human rights abuses, a bipartisan bill opposed by Russia and facing resistance from the Obama administration.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee had been scheduled to vote on the “Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act” at a meeting on Tuesday afternoon. But the bill was taken off the agenda after Democratic Senator Jim Webb requested a delay.
“Senator Webb supports the premise of the Magnitsky Act, but has concerns about some of the language in the current draft and has asked that the bill be held over so that he can more closely examine it,” Webb’s spokesman, Will Jenkins, said. He gave no details.
Democratic Senator John Kerry, the committee chairman, said the bill would be taken up at the panel’s next business meeting on June 26.
The legislation is named for a 37-year-old anti-corruption lawyer who worked for the equity fund Hermitage Capital in Moscow. His 2009 death after a year in Russian jails spooked investors and blackened Russia’s image abroad.
The measure 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. It passed a House of Representatives committee this month, but no action has been taken in the Senate.
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Vote on Russia human-rights bill postponed
A Senate panel postponed a vote on a Russian human-rights bill until next Tuesday after a panel member asked for a delay.
Under the Foreign Relations Committee’s rules, any member can anonymously request a holdover until the panel’s next business meeting. The delay comes the day after President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a frosty meeting at the Group of 20 summit in Mexico.
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), the bill’s Senate sponsor, said he didn’t think the delay had anything to do with the Obama-Putin meeting or the White House’s concerns with the bill. He said he expects it to pass the House and Senate.
“I am very confident that they’re not delaying our action,” Cardin said. “Doesn’t mean they’re supporting our action.
“We’ve been working very closely with the Obama administration. They’ve been very much engaged in what we’re doing.”
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U.S. Senate Panel Postpones Vote On Magnitsky Bill
A key U.S. Senate panel has postponed its vote on a bill that seeks to sanction Russian officials connected to the prison death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee was scheduled to vote on June 19 on the “Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act,” before a committee lawmaker requested a last-minute delay.
A committee spokesperson told RFE/RL, “As a result of this request, and consistent with long-standing committee practice regarding holdovers, there will not be a vote on the Magnitsky bill at today’s business meeting.”
RFE/RL later confirmed that Senator Jim Webb (Democrat-Virginia) had requested the delay. A spokesperson from his office said, “Senator Webb supports the premise of the Magnitsky Act, but has concerns about some of the language in the current draft and has asked that the bill be held over so that he can more closely examine it.”
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