Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, announced Sept. 5 that officials from four large U.S. computing chip manufacturers will testify at a hearing next week on Russia’s efforts to evade U.S. export controls.

Eight House Democrats urged Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Sept. 5 to immediately bring up bipartisan Venezuela legislation on the House floor when Congress returns from its August recess next week.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said Sept. 3 that the Bureau of Industry and Security is failing to stem the flow of U.S.-made advanced computing chips to China and must take additional steps to stop the “semiconductor leakage.”

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., criticized the Biden administration last week for its recent use of sanctions against Israelis, saying the practice undercuts an ally fighting a war against terrorism and emboldens enemies of Israel and the U.S. Rubio said Israel’s judicial system “is fully capable of prosecuting crimes committed within its borders” and that the administration should stop inserting itself into such matters. His comments, which he made in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, came two days after the U.S. sanctioned an Israeli non-governmental organization and an Israeli person for contributing to violence against Palestinians in the West Bank (see 2408280023).

House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., urged the Defense Department Aug. 28 to place Chinese electric vehicle battery producer Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd. (CATL) on its Section 1260H list of Chinese military companies, citing the firm’s close ties to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and its role in the Chinese Communist Party’s military-civil fusion strategy.

The leaders of the House Select Committee on China asked the Commerce Department last week to describe the steps the Biden administration is taking to address attempts by Chinese companies to offer their products through different companies to evade U.S. restrictions.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, urged the Biden administration Aug. 27 to increase its enforcement of Iran sanctions to reduce Tehran’s support for terrorist groups. "Instead of allowing the Iranian regime to prosper and withholding weapons from our greatest ally in the Middle East, I’m calling on the Biden-Harris administration to deny" Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' "ability to support and arm terrorists and provide Israel the resources it needs to decimate these terrorists once and for all," Ernst said. The senator made her comment after visiting the site in northern Israel where a rocket attack by Iran-backed Hezbollah killed 12 children last month. A State Department official recently said the administration is "vigorously enforcing" Iran sanctions (see 2408120032).

Reps. Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., and Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., introduced a bill last week that would prohibit lawmakers from making personal financial investments that involve China, Russia, Iran or other “foreign adversaries.”

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., urged the Biden administration last week to take action against Chinese companies that form U.S.-based subsidiaries to evade sanctions and other restrictions imposed by the U.S. government.

Former Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., said last week he remains confident that a new law requiring China’s ByteDance to divest popular social media application TikTok will survive any legal challenges.