White House ‘supports’ current Russia sanctions legislation

Bloomberg

The Trump administration “supports” the current version of a bill to sanction Russia for its actions during the 2016 elections that could soon land on President Donald Trump’s desk for a signature, the White House press secretary said.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ comments came after Republican and Democratic leaders in the House reached a tentative deal to move ahead this week on a measure that, among other things, would prevent the president from acting unilaterally to remove sanctions on Russia.
“The original piece of legislation was poorly written but we were able to work with the House and Senate. And the administration is happy with the ability to do that and make those changes that were necessary,” Sanders said on ABC’s “This Week.” “We support where the legislation is now.”
Still, Sanders, appointed to her post after the resignation of Sean Spicer, stopping short of confirming that Trump will sign the bill as written, and Anthony Scaramucci, the new White House communications director, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that “I don’t know the answer to whether the president will sign it.”
If the president were to veto the bill, “we will override his veto,” Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on “Fox News Sunday.”

‘Overwhelming Majority’
On the same show, Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, predicted that “in the end, the administration will come to the conclusion that an overwhelming majority of Congress has” that Russia should face sanctions for meddling in the 2016 election.
The apparent agreement to fix procedural concerns, add sanctions against North Korea, and modify provisions that would restrict the participation of US energy companies in some international projects, clears the way for a House vote next week. The White House had argued earlier that it needs flexibility to adjust economic sanctions against Moscow.
A version of the bill released by House Republican leaders includes changes sought since the Senate passed legislation in June that would prohibit US businesses from working on or supporting energy projects that include any participation by Russian companies, even outside Russia’s borders.
The new version would also set a threshold for Russian involvement, applying that restriction to projects where sanctioned Russian entities have at least a 33 percent interest.
A separate procedural impasse would be resolved by allowing leaders from both the majority and minority parties in the Senate or House to force their respective chamber to consider an objection to White House action on sanctions. The original bill allowed any member of Congress in either chamber to force consideration of sanctions waivers. Senators can still introduce resolutions, with leadership approval.

‘Intense Negotiations’
The revised legislation was “the product of intense negotiations,” Cardin said in an emailed statement on Saturday. With the changes, “a nearly united Congress is poised to send President Putin a clear message on behalf of the American people and our allies, and we need President Trump to help us deliver that message,” he said.
The legislation comes after US intelligence agencies concluded that Russia sought to influence the American presidential election last year. Congressional committees and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are examining the Russian interference and whether there was any collusion with President Donald Trump’s campaign.
The measure gained urgency as evidence emerged in recent weeks that members of Trump’s family and inner circle were in touch with Russians during last year’s campaign. White House officials were on Capitol Hill earlier this month asking lawmakers to reconsider the Russia provisions that the Senate added to an Iran sanctions bill and passed 98-2.

North Korea
The new version also will include sanctions against North Korea, modeled after language that passed the House 419-1 in May and hasn’t been taken up by the Senate. The bill has been placed on a list of measures to be considered on the House floor on July 25 using a fast-track process passage that requires support of two-thirds of all House members voting. If the House passes the modified sanctions package, the Senate will hold another vote on the legislation that would now punish North Korea, Iran and Russia.
Trump would then be faced with signing legislation that takes away his power to act unilaterally on sanctions. If the president vetoes a law proposed in part to punish Russia for its documented interference in the 2016 U.S. election, he risks the appearance of doing a favor for Moscow.
White House deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters declined to comment on the sanctions bill.