Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, reintroduced a bill Jan. 15 to repeal the Corporate Transparency Act, which would require many companies to submit information on who owns and controls them.
A bipartisan group of four lawmakers reintroduced a bill Jan. 14 that would rank countries on their efforts to fight corruption, and would direct the State Department to evaluate whether the worst offenders should be subject to sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.
House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., announced Jan. 15 that he has appointed seven subcommittee ranking members for the 119th Congress:
House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., announced Jan. 15 that Margaret Harker will be the panel’s new general counsel. Harker most recently was deputy chief counsel for investigations at the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Moolenaar also announced that Alyssa Pettus will become his panel’s communications director, and David Russell will become senior adviser for policy and communications. Dave Hanke will remain staff director.
Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., reintroduced a bill Jan. 14 to require the Energy Department to examine the impact on climate change, consumer energy costs and local communities when considering permits for new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, reintroduced a bill Jan. 13 that would designate the Houthis, also known as Ansarallah, as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), saying the label would trigger more effective sanctions against third parties that supply the Yemen-based group.
Rep. Maria Salazar, R-Fla., who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, announced Jan. 14 that she is reintroducing the Fighting Oppression until the Reign of Castro Ends (FORCE) Act, which would prevent the executive branch from removing Cuba from the state sponsors of terrorism list until the island country commits to democracy and human rights. The bill has 20 co-sponsors, all Republicans. Her announcement came the same day the White House revealed that President Joe Biden is removing Cuba from the list (see 2501140080).
Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., announced Jan. 13 that he plans to introduce a bill to give China’s ByteDance more time to divest TikTok before facing a ban on the popular social media application in the U.S.
The leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee urged the Biden administration late Jan. 10 to reimpose all sanctions lifted on Venezuela since November 2022.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., reintroduced a bill Jan. 9 that would impose sanctions on Chinese police departments that operate in the U.S. or try to do so. His Expel Illegal Chinese Police Act also would sanction those who monitor or intimidate people in the U.S. on behalf of the Chinese Community Party’s United Front Work Department. The bill was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Cotton previously introduced the legislation in early December, near the end of the 118th Congress (see 2412040035).