Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., joined forces on Wednesday to introduce a bipartisan bill that would ban the U.S. from entering into a nuclear energy deal with Saudi Arabia unless it comes clean about the death of U.S. resident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
“This important bill will ensure Congress has oversight over and the right to affirmatively approve any nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia, and also continues to press the Saudis for accountability in Jamal Khashoggi’s murder,” Rubio said in a statement.
The No Nuclear Weapons for Saudi Arabia Act gives Congress the final say on any nuclear cooperation between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. The bill also make clear that no agreement shall be made until the oil-rich kingdom “is truthful and transparent” about the death of Khashoggi. The bill also requires Saudi Arabia to make progress on protecting human rights, including through the release of political prisoners, before any nuclear deal can be had.
Rubio also called on the Trump administration to suspend all talks with Saudi Arabia on a civil nuclear energy deal until the kingdom agrees to meet the so-called “Gold Standard” requirements under any nuclear cooperation deal, known as 1-2-3 agreements, to assure against uranium enrichment and the development of a nuclear weapon.
“Crown Prince Mohamad bin Salman has made it perfectly clear that he is more interested in harnessing nuclear energy in Saudi Arabia for geopolitical power than for electrical power and has even publicly declared his willingness to pursue nuclear weapons at his discretion,” said Markey.
Both Markey and Rubio serve on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where the newly introduced legislation would be debated. Indiana Republican Rep. Luke Messer joined with California Democrat Brad Sherman on Wednesday to introduce a companion bill in the House.
