The leaders of the House Select Committee on China criticized California-based Lam Research Feb. 10 for not providing documents the panel requested as part of its ongoing investigation on firms that sell semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China.
House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., criticized the State Department Feb. 7 for moving ahead with possible arms sales to Israel while he was still reviewing the potential transactions.
The House Select Committee on China is getting six new members -- four Republicans, two Democrats -- in the new 119th Congress, lawmakers announced last week. The Republicans are Reps. Gus Bilirakis of Florida, Young Kim of California, Nathaniel Moran of Texas and Zach Nunn of Iowa. The Democrats are Reps. Greg Stanton of Arizona and Jill Tokuda of Hawaii. Reps. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., have been reappointed chairman and ranking member, respectively.
Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., reintroduced a resolution Feb. 4 urging the U.N. Security Council to impose an arms embargo on Myanmar's military.
Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., said Feb. 4 that he intends to reintroduce a bill aimed at denying Iran's government access to the U.S. financial system. His No U.S. Financing for Iran Act, which he previously offered in October 2023, would prevent Iran from using U.S. financial institutions to engage in trade-related transactions, except for humanitarian purposes. Huizenga disclosed his plans in a statement welcoming President Donald Trump’s move to increase pressure on Iran over its support for terrorism (see 2502050020).
Eight Republican members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, urged the State Department this week to sanction Chinese entities involved in transferring missile propellant ingredients to Iran.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.Y., said Feb. 6 that Democrats remain open to negotiating a deal with Republicans on a bill to sanction International Criminal Court (ICC) officials.
Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on Feb. 2 urged Hungary and Slovakia to end their opposition to EU sanctions against Georgian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili and his “cronies” who “rigged” the country’s October parliamentary elections and are now "brutally cracking down" on pro-democracy protesters. Previously, on Jan. 29, Wilson and U.K. Parliament Member James MacCleary jointly asked U.K. Foreign Minister David Lammy to sanction Ivanishvili. The State Department sanctioned him in late December (see 2412270011).
A bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers reintroduced a bill Feb. 4 that would prohibit the sale of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to “foreign adversaries,” namely China, Iran, North Korea and Russia.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and member Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, introduced a bill Feb. 3 that would sanction foreign entities that facilitate illegal immigration into the U.S., including human smuggling networks and financial institutions that enable their operations.