House Democrats have not decided yet whether to file their own version of an Iran-Russia sanctions bill, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee told THE WEEKLY STANDARD Wednesday afternoon.
House Democrats and Republicans have been in disagreement for days over a change made by the Senate to the legislation. When senators agreed to fix a constitutional issue with the sanctions legislation weeks ago, they also made a procedural change that Democrats say detracts from their ability to hold the Trump administration accountable if it lifts or eases sanctions on Russia.
Now the two parties disagree on the proper fix—and who’s to blame for the delay. Reuters reported Wednesday tha
But Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told THE WEEKLY STANDARD that it remained unclear as of yet whether Democrats would file their own bill. “Everything is still up in the air,” he said, after emerging from a meeting with committee chairman Ed Royce and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. “But I am committed to making sure that this bill passes and that we have sanctions on Iran and Russia.”
Engel said negotiations on the matter were ongoing.
“If there’s a will, there’s a way,” he said. “If we want to do a bill, then we can find a way around that, as we can find a way around every other thing that’s in dispute. But you’ve got to want a bill, you’ve got to want to find it.”
“Can we find it? I think we can. Will we find it? Who knows. We’ll know more in a couple of hours.”
The legislation sanctions Iran for its ballistic missile tests and human rights violations, but also punishes Russia for election interference and includes a congressional review process should the president wish to suspend or relax sanctions on the Kremlin.
A House GOP aide said the Democrats’ potential bill is “all about political posturing.”
“House Democrats are looking for cover as they continue to block a bipartisan motion that would allow the House to begin consideration of the fixed Senate bill,” the aide told TWS.
A spokeswoman for Speaker Paul Ryan advised that Democrats agree to the changes already agreed to by the Senate.
“This new package effectively means that the Senate would have to consider it all over again further delaying passing a sanctions package,” said AshLee Strong. “This is grandstanding and not a serious effort to resolve this issue and hold Russia accountable.”
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer said earlier Wednesday that he did not believe Senate Democrats, who agreed to the now-contested changed language, fully understood the change when they signed off on it.
“I don’t think they understood the ramifications of striking the part that gave Democrats the right to bring up the resolution of disapproval,” Hoyer said.
The Trump administration has simultaneously been talking to members about amending the legislation, in part over concerns that it would hamstring the president in his negotiations with the Kremlin.
“What our concern is, is that the legislation we believe sets an unusual precedent of delegating foreign policy to 535 members of Congress by not including certain national security waivers that have always been consistently part of sanctions bills in the past,” White House director of legislative affairs Marc Short told reporters this month.
Some Democrats have characterized the delay of the bill, as well as changes to the legislation, as part of efforts by Republicans to help the White House.
“For the Republicans in the House of Representatives to be afraid and unwilling to allow even the minority leader to bring up a resolution of disapproval indicates to me that they are in a protective mode,” Hoyer said Wednesday. “Not a mode of assuring, as the Senate did, that we have significant oversight and protections vis-a-vis Russia sanctions.”
