Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was doing some last-minute lobbying on Russia sanctions Friday as Congress’ annual defense policy bill headed toward the finish line.
The bill is set to be unveiled early next week and could weigh in on whether allied countries such as India who have done business with Moscow in the past will be allowed to buy U.S. defense products.
[Related: GOP eyes Russia sanctions bill a day after Trump’s summit blunder]
Mattis again pressed for legislation allowing friendly countries to seek waivers to the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA, which was passed overwhelmingly by Congress last year and imposes stiff penalties on Russia.
“Doing so allows nations to build a closer security relationship with the U.S. as they continue to transition from reliance on Russian military equipment,” Mattis said in the statement. “The fundamental question we must ask ourselves is do we wish to strengthen our partners in key regions or leave them with no other option than to turn to Russia, thereby undermining a once in a generation opportunity to more closely align nations with the U.S. vision for global security and stability.”
A House and Senate conference committee was wrapping up work on a final version of the National Defense Authorization Act bill on Friday. Rep. Mac Thornberry said he expects the bill to be released and to receive a vote on the House floor next week.
The House had proposed easing the CAATSA restrictions are Mattis wants but the Senate did not include similar provisions. A joint conference committee began closed-door work on the NDAA earlier this month.
“Russia should suffer consequences for its aggressive, destabilizing behavior and its illegal occupation of Ukraine,” Mattis said. “However, as we impose necessary and well-deserved costs for their malign behavior, providing the Secretary of State with a CAATSA waiver authority is imperative.”
The Pentagon also announced on Friday it will provide an additional $200 million to Ukraine to counter Russia’s support of a rebel insurgency. That follows the Trump administration decision to provide lethal weapons including Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine in December.
Congress’ armed services committees, which head up the NDAA drafting, have kept the $716 billion bill negotiations under wraps but details began to leak on Friday.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced that the conference committee had nixed an amendment reinstating penalties on Chinese company ZTE, which many in Congress view as a national security threat. The legislation could have scuttled a deal between President Trump and China to rehabilitate the company.
The 2019 defense bill is also set to decide on provisions related to Trump’s Space Force, whether the Air Force can retire its fleet of E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft, and proposed cuts to Pentagon support agencies.
