A bipartisan group of five House members, including House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill, R-Ark., reintroduced a bill June 26 to create a State Sponsor of Unlawful or Wrongful Detention (SSWD) designation, which would allow the State Department to impose sanctions, arms export restrictions and other penalties on countries that wrongfully detain Americans.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 26-23 June 25 to approve a bill that would eliminate a requirement that the Energy Department authorize liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, leaving the independent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as the sole authority for the approval process (see 2503070048). The Unlocking Our Domestic LNG Potential Act now heads to the full House.
President Donald Trump’s comment June 24 that China can now buy Iranian oil despite U.S. sanctions (see 2506240049) drew mixed reactions on Capitol Hill.
Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., introduced a bill June 24 that would direct the executive branch to determine whether it should designate the Polisario Front as a foreign terrorist organization and sanction the Algeria-based paramilitary group.
Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., reintroduced a bill June 25 that would impose property-blocking sanctions on foreign entities and individuals who undermine the 1995 peace agreement that ended the Bosnian War.
The Senate confirmed Paul Dabbar (see 2505140066) to be deputy commerce secretary in a vote June 25, 56-40. Three Democrats and Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, who caucuses with the Democrats, supported his nomination. The role is essentially the chief of operations for the agency.
The House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee chairman, 44 other House Republicans and Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., urged the U.S. trade representative, agriculture secretary, commerce secretary and treasury secretary to get trade partners to end digital services taxes, improve import quotas and lower tariffs in these quick negotiations, all issues that they said "we cannot delay addressing."
Paulo Figueiredo, a Brazilian journalist living in Florida, urged the U.S. June 24 to impose Global Magnitsky Act sanctions on Brazilian judge and “de facto dictator” Alexandre de Moraes for persecuting political opponents and journalists.
Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, introduced a bill June 12 that would increase the congressional notification threshold for exports of firearms controlled under Category I of the U.S. Munitions List. The legislation would set the threshold at $4 million, up from $1 million, a level set in 1976. The bill was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The House approved bills late June 23 dealing with anti-piracy sanctions and foreign investment in U.S. farmland.