The Russia connectionSenate committees to hold hearings on Russia, recommend additional punitive measures
Two Senate committees – the Foreign Relations Committee and the Banking Committee – announced they will hold a series of hearings on Russia. Last week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) tasked Senators Bob Corker (R-Tennessee), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, with holding hearings on the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), and asked them to recommend to the Senate additional measures that could respond to or deter what he called “Russian malign behavior.”
U.S. Senators Bob Corker (R-Tennessee), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, on Tuesday announced their committees will hold a series of hearings on Russia.
“We worked closely together to write the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which substantially expanded sanctions on Russia and overwhelmingly passed both the Senate and House last summer, and are eager to continue the important work being done by our committees to push back on Russia,” said Corker and Crapo.
Last week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) tasked Corker and Crapo with holding hearings on the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and asked them to recommend to the Senate additional measures that could respond to or deter what he called “Russian malign behavior.”
Corker and Crapo, along with Senators Ben Cardin (D-Maryland) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), last summer authored CAATSA, which substantially expanded sanctions against the government of Russia in response to the Russia’s violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine, interference in elections, and current activities in Syria. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senate Banking Committee are responsible for the predominant share of sanctions legislation in the Senate.
The first hearing, convened by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is titled “An Update on American Diplomacy to Advance Our National Security Strategy” and is scheduled for today (Wednesday, 25 July). The hearing will feature testimony from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on President Donald Trump’s recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, as well as the administration’s ongoing dialogue with North Korea.
The Senate Banking Committee will convene a classified Members briefing with Administration officials to discuss Russia and the impact of sanctions.
The committees are planning to hold additional hearings in the coming weeks.
• The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is planning to hold hearings on:
• the value of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO);
• the broad challenges ahead for U.S. policy toward Russia;
• Russia’s current activities in Syria; and arms control issues, including Russian violations of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF Treaty).
The Senate Banking Committee is planning to hold hearings on:
• the implementation of CAATSA and the impact of sanctions; and
• what other tools can be used beyond CAATSA, if any, to further deter Russia.
“I most want to know what President Trump committed to President Putin at the Helsinki conference in the two hours about which we know very little except what Russia is selectively leaking or characterizing,” Senator Christopher Coons (D-Delaware), a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, told The Hill.
