The Senate is weighing removing North Korea sanctions from a sweeping bill that overwhelmingly passed the House on Tuesday, the chairman of the Senate’s foreign relations panel said, in an effort to get the package passed before August recess.
The oft-delayed bill, approved 419-3 by the lower chamber, also punishes Russia over election interference and other destabilizing activities on its borders and in Syria, and hits Iran for its ballistic missile program and human rights abuses. Lawmakers on the House side agreed to add the North Korea piece last week at the request of Republican leaders, who are now expressing strong opposition to stripping the sanctions.
Tennessee senator Bob Corker said Wednesday that removing that portion would be the easiest option, since a review of it and ensuing back-and-forth negotiations with the House would likely delay the bill’s passage until after August recess.
“What likely will happen is we will strip out the North Korea piece and send it back to them, so that the two pieces we’ve negotiated together will remain intact,” Corker said Wednesday morning at a Washington Post event, referring to the Russia and Iran sanctions. “Most of the people want to get this bill enacted and into law. So it’s not an affront, it’s just a timing issue.”
The Senate urged the House “at every step” not to include the North Korea portion, he later added, and said that a number of senators now wanted to weigh in on it.
“There are some changes that people would like to put in, like to add congressional review to it,” Corker said early Wednesday. “But the timeframe with the House leaving on Friday means that if we were to do that, that would likely go beyond the period of time they’re here.”
Corker acknowledged to reporters that the proposition is meeting stiff resistance from House Republicans. He said that the two chambers would come to a compromise.
“The news of the day is that Russia sanctions will become law very soon,” he said.
House minority leader Nancy Pelosi had warned Saturday that the North Korea sanctions could create more procedural delays. The House passed a separate North Korea bill in May, 419-1, but the Senate has not taken it up.
Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, rejected any further delay on those sanctions.
“Nearly three months ago, the House passed strong North Korea sanctions by a vote of 419-1. The Senate did not take up the bill, even after Kim Jong Un test fired a new ICBM that could soon be capable of hitting California,” Royce, a California congressman, told THE WEEKLY STANDARD. “Now the House has acted again, by a vote of 419-3. Further delay on North Korea is completely unacceptable.”
Senator Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the foreign relations panel, said removing the North Korea portion would be a “mistake.”
“I’m for passing it as is without taking anything out,” he said. “The House has accepted our configuration on both Iran and Russia. I think it’s reasonable for us to accept their configuration on North Korea. There’s nothing in the bill that I find problematic.”
Cardin doubted the House would agree to remove the North Korea provision.
“Congressman McCarthy felt strongly about that,” he said.
The White House has also raised concerns about portions of the bill, including a provision that requires the president to obtain congressional approval before altering Russia sanctions.
Corker said that lawmakers did not negotiate with the White House or State Department on the bill.
“To the question of negotiating with the White House—we didn’t,” Corker said. “I’m in no way trying to be audacious in my statement, we just didn’t.”
Trump administration officials have praised the revised legislation for addressing some of their concerns. The president has not said whether he will support the sanctions.
Update: This piece has been edited throughout to reflect developments that have taken place since THE WEEKLY STANDARD first reported senator Bob Corker’s comments that the Senate would “likely … strip out the North Korea” sanctions from the bill that the House passed. Corker has since acknowledged resistance from House Republicans.
