Posts Tagged ‘The Hill’
US lawmakers fed up with Russia, Putin
U.S. lawmakers say they’re increasingly frustrated with Vladimir Putin and are demanding that President Obama crack down on Russia following a slew of recent spats with the United States.
The country over the past two weeks has sentenced Putin’s biggest critic to five years in prison and posthumously convicted a dead whistle-blower championed by Congress. To top it off, the Kremlin is now considering asylum for NSA leaker Edward Snowden, a move lawmakers warn would bring U.S.-Russian relations to a post-Cold War low.
“Enough is enough,” Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) declared Friday upon introducing a resolution calling on the September G-20 meeting in St. Petersburg to be moved to some other country if Russia doesn’t turn over Snowden. “It’s time to send a crystal clear message to President Putin about Russia’s deplorable behavior, and this resolution will do just that.”
Schumer’s co-sponsor on the resolution, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), made international headlines earlier this week when he told The Hill that Obama should consider pulling out of the 2014 Olympics in Sochi if Snowden gets asylum.
“I would just send the Russians the most unequivocal signal I could send them,” Graham said when asked about the possibility of a boycott. “It might help, because what they’re doing is outrageous.”
The feeling is bicameral.
“I’m absolutely frustrated with Russia,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.). “Every day the human rights situation continues to get worse.”
McGovern is the House author of legislation targeting alleged Russian human-rights offenders that was named after Sergei Magnitsky, an anti-corruption whistle-blower who died in police custody. McGovern urged the administration to add higher-ups in the Putin government to the list of people banned from traveling to the United States or holding assets in the country.
“We gave the administration a very effective tool – they need to use it,” McGovern told The Hill. “Now isn’t the time to be quiet, now is the time to speak up about what’s going on over there.”
“We haven’t been pushing them that hard, and they’ve been no help to us on Syria. It is important that we push back, and if we don’t, who will? Nobody.”
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US blasts Russia over Magnitsky conviction
The Obama administration and lawmakers lashed out at Russia on Thursday after the country sentenced a dead whistle-blower on tax evasion charges in the country’s first posthumous trial.
President Obama signed human rights legislation named after Sergei Magnitsky last year. The legislation places travel and financial restrictions on Russians whom the State Department identifies as human rights violators.
“We are disappointed by the unprecedented posthumous criminal conviction against Sergei Magnitsky,” said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki. “The trial was a discredit to the efforts of those who continue to seek justice in his case. Despite widely publicized credible evidence of criminal conduct resulting in Magnitsky’s death, the authorities have failed to prosecute those responsible.
“We continue to call for full accountability for all those responsible for Magnitsky’s wrongful death and will continue to support the efforts of those in Russia who seek to hold those individuals accountable.”
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Senate hits Russia on adoption ban
The Senate in the early hours of January 1 passed a resolution expressing disappointment in Russia’s new ban on the adoption of Russian children by American families.
Russia’s ban takes effect today, and is seen as a reaction to congressional passage of the so-called Magnitsky Act. That act calls for new sanctions against Russian officials involved in the 2009 death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who was probing fraud in the Russian government.
The Magnitsky language was part of legislation granting Russia permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status, which President Obama signed into law on December 14.
The Senate resolution, from Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), expresses the “deep disappointment” in the adoption ban, and encourages Russia to reconsider the law.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the adoption ban into law last Friday.
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The top 10 lobbying victories of this year
The influence industry scored several hard-fought victories in a year in which lawmakers were more focused on campaigning than legislating.
Though the winners and losers in the lobbying battle over the “fiscal cliff” are not yet known, a number of companies, trade groups and lobbyists already have a signature triumph to call their own in 2012.
The tech industry beat back legislation that would have put a tighter leash on the Internet; business groups outmuscled Tea Party activists to reauthorize the U.S. Export-Import Bank; and Wall Street managed to water down a provision in fast-moving ethics legislation.
Here’s a look at the top 10 lobbying victories of 2012, along with the groups and companies — and at least one persistent investment fund manager — who won them.
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Russia trade bill likely headed to Obama desk
A bill granting normal trade relations to Russia is likely headed to President Obama’s desk for his signature after key objections have been dropped in the Senate.
The Senate is on course to vote on granting Russian permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) on Thursday. The bill also contains human rights provisions aimed at punishing those accused of murdering lawyer Sergei Magnitsky and other human rights violations.
Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said on the Senate floor that they are willing to look to other bills to try to make the Magnitsky provisions apply to all countries.
“I will not let perfection become the enemy of the good,” Kyl said.
“I hope we will make this statutorily global. We will have that debate at a later date,” Cardin said.
The House bill on the Senate floor only applies human rights provisions to Russia, and attempts to amend it could have led to a stalemate with the House. Big business lobbyists, opposed to the sanctions in the bill, have been keen to limit the Magnitsky provisions just to Russia.
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House OKs expanded trade with Russia in 365-43 vote
The House passed legislation Friday morning that expands trade with Russia, but also allows for sanctions against Russian officials involved in human rights violations.
Members approved H.R. 6156, which gives Russia and Moldova permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status, in an overwhelming 365-43 vote. The bill was opposed by a handful of Republicans and about three dozen Democrats.
Granting Russia the trade status is a step the United States needs to take if it is going to benefit from the concessions Russia made when it entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) in August. Russia’s ascension marked the end of a nearly two-decade effort to join the WTO, which sets global trade rules and fosters favorable trading terms between members.
House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) on Friday said the bill would help dramatically expand U.S. exports to Russia.
“This bill would allow us to gain important rights and powerful new enforcement tools with respect to one of the world’s largest economies without giving up a single tariff or other concession,” he said. “We could double or even triple U.S. exports to Russia within five years.”
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Russia trade bill stands at the ready
Better late …: After months of delays, the House is prepared to pass a bill normalizing trade relations with Russia before heading off for some turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie.
Pressure from business groups has been intense on the issue, with the National Association of Manufacturers fanning out and knocking on 100 doors on Capitol Hill on Thursday to round up support.
The bill also includes language related to human rights in Russia, which specifically calls for denying U.S. visas to Russian officials involved in the 2009 death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, as well as the freezing of any U.S. assets of those officials.
But Democrats said Thursday that the inclusion of the Magnitsky language makes it easy to support the bill, because it is now much more than just a regular trade bill.
Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.), the ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said Democrats can vote for the bill “with good conscience” because of the Magnitsky language. He and other lawmakers are looking to expand the language to include global human rights violations.
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House to vote on Russia trade
The House next week is expected to pass legislation that would give Russia permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status, which would allow the United States to benefit from Russia’s August accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The House Rules Committee announced Friday that it will hold a meeting on Tuesday to approve a rule that governs floor consideration of the bill, H.R. 6156. That implies that the House will start work on the bipartisan measure as early as Wednesday, and complete it by the end of the week.
The bill removes Russia from the Jackson-Vanik rule, which requires the U.S. to review the trade status of some countries annually, and grant temporary normal trade status based on the emigration policies of the listed countries.
But WTO members are required to give each other permanent trade status, and failing to grant PNTR to Russia would mean the U.S. cannot benefit from the concessions Russia made when it joined the WTO.
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Dem platform differs from GOP on trade with Russia
The 2012 Democratic party platform released Monday differs from the GOP platform on trade with Russia.
Congress, as early as next week, could take up a bill to grant permanent normal trade relations(PNTR) to Russia.
The Democratic platform, like the GOP document, supports PNTR. But, unlike the GOP, Democrats are not demanding that PNTR be linked to a separate human-rights bill.
Last week, the GOP platform stated: “Russia should be granted Permanent Normal Trade Relations, but not without sanctions on Russian officials who have used the government to violate human rights.”
It said the GOP supports “enactment of the Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act as a condition of expanded trade relations with Russia.”
The Democratic platform makes no such mention of the Magnitsky bill, which would slap financial and visa sanctions on those accused of murdering Russian whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky.
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