Bishop Votes for Amended Russia/Belarus Trade Relations Bill, Against Weak Energy Sanctions Bill

Press Release

Today, Rep. Dan Bishop (NC-09) voted in favor of the Senate Amendment to H.R. 7108 -- the Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act following Senator Rand Paul's (R-KY) amendment to fix glaring holes in the House-passed bill, while also voting against the Suspending Energy Imports from Russia Act:

"I applaud Senator Rand Paul for his efforts to fix the House-passed trade relations bill and ensure Congress is not just handing over more unchecked power to President Biden. The amended legislation removes problematic provisions that would have given the President nearly unchecked power to sanction foreign nationals unrelated to Russia and target pro-life individuals. With those concerns alleviated, I voted in favor of suspending relations with Russia and Belarus during their unprovoked attack on Ukraine."

"However, I could not support banning Russian oil imports while gas prices are burning a hole in Americans' pockets and President Biden refuses to unleash America's own domestic energy production. Americans are paying more at the pump now than they have in decades. While I support efforts to sanction Russia, Biden and Democrats need to get serious about addressing America's energy crisis of their own creation before even thinking about banning energy imports," Rep. Dan Bishop said.

The Senate Amendment to the Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act removes favorable tariff treatment for Russia and Belarus while also asserting Congress' Article I authority by setting a hard and fast sunset date, ensuring that Congress, not the Executive, has the power to set our sanctions policy. The bill also maintains the current definition for human rights abuse found in the Magnitsky Act, so President Biden cannot just sanction anyone under a vague "human rights abuse" definition.

The Suspending Energy Imports from Russia Act would make America's energy crisis much worse than it is today. Congress should ban the importation of Russian oil, but we must also enact policies that will unleash America's energy dominance. We should support Ukraine without sending America's inflation and gas prices skyrocketing even higher.

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