WASHINGTON, D.C. – A group of Republican lawmakers are proposing sanctions against Russia that have a, perhaps, purposeful name.
Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Dunlap), among other Republicans, have introduced legislation called the “Never Yielding Europe’s Territory Act” — or, as they call it “NYET,” the Russian word for “no.”
Name or not, LaHood says in a news release the bill would send a clear message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the U.S. would “cripple his economy if he invades Ukraine.”
This comes as President Biden has introduced sanctions against those who might do business with the two parts of Ukraine that have declared independence, and for which they’ve been supported by Putin.
According to LaHood’s office, the bill would:
- Impose real costs on Russia pre- and post- invasion by:
- Sanctioning Putin’s cronies, enablers, and major banks before Russia further invades Ukraine to ensure Putin pays a price now for hybrid attacks already launched against Ukraine.
- Sending a clear deterrent message to Putin that an invasion of Ukraine will result in massive economic consequences to Russia’s economy, including:
- Sanctions on major Russian banks; and
- Secondary sanctions on banks that continue business with sanctioned Russian banks.
- Allowing any chairman or ranking member of a national security committee to force a determination from the president on whether Russia’s aggression against Ukraine constitutes a major escalation and fulfills conditions to trigger sanctions.
- Immediately stopping construction of the Nord Stream 2 project and mandating sanctions on the project without a waiver should Russia invade.
- Denying exports of semiconductor technology to the Russian Federation, applying a foreign direct product rule to capture items made outside the United States and sanctioning any company that violates the United States’ export control policy on the Russian Federation.
- Provide support for Ukraine before, during, and after a Russian escalation by:
- Providing $500 million in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for Ukraine, including $250 million in emergency funding, with $100 million for emergency lethal assistance for critical capabilities like air defense, anti-armor, and anti-ship capabilities.
- Creating a new Ukraine Resistance Fund to help Ukraine resist attempts to occupy or subjugate any new territory Russia seizes, while sending a clear message to Putin that his military will pay a price for advances into sovereign Ukrainian territory.
- Expediting congressional review of arms sales and security assistance to Ukraine.
- Designating Ukraine as a “NATO Plus” country to ensure the expeditious consideration of the sale of a range of U.S. defense articles and services.
- Reassure NATO’s Eastern Flank by:
- Doubling funding for U.S. military exercises in Europe.
- Creating a new State Department FMF program for Eastern Europe to help European allies strengthen their own defensive capabilities and incentivize greater burden-sharing.
- Boosting funding for State Department efforts to counter Russian disinformation, including the Global Engagement Center, and expanding broadcasting by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
- Establish stronger Congressional oversight over the Biden Administration’s use of Russia sanctions by:
- Providing Congress a veto over the removal of a wider range of Russia-related sanctions, including the Biden Administration’s April Executive Order 14024 (Blocking Property With Respect To Specified Harmful Foreign Activities Of The Government Of The Russian Federation).
- Establishing a mechanism to require the Administration to review certain persons submitted by Congress for eligibility for Russia-related sanctions.
- Reject Russia’s proposal for a deployment moratorium of intermediate-range ground-launched missiles in Europe and require a strategy on cooperation with NATO allies on conventional intermediate-range missiles.
SOURCE: Rep. Darin LaHood
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