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.

House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., has urged newly installed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to follow through on his pledge to increase sanctions on Russia over its war in Ukraine.

The Trump administration’s foreign aid freeze will hamstring efforts by international organizations such as Conflict Armament Research (CAR) to detect sales of American technology to foreign "adversaries," including Iran, North Korea and Russia, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Feb. 4.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, reintroduced a bill Jan. 31 that would direct the State Department to designate four Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, reintroduced a bill Jan. 30 that would sanction Chinese individuals and entities that engage in a pattern of intellectual property theft from the U.S.

A group of 13 House Democrats urged the Trump administration Jan. 31 not to ease sanctions on Venezuela as part of a deal to return Venezuelans living in the U.S. to their home country.

Congress could encourage greater use of sanctions by changing the reporting requirements it imposes on the executive branch, a think-tank leader told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Jan. 30.

Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, reintroduced a bill Jan. 29 that would require the president to identify and sanction those responsible for torture, abductions and other human rights abuses against Southern Mongolians in China. Merkley said the bill is intended to counter China’s efforts to erase Mongolian culture and language. The Southern Mongolian Human Rights Policy Act was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Merkley previously introduced the bill in November.

A bipartisan group of four House members introduced a resolution Jan. 28 calling for additional sanctions against Belarusian officials following that country’s recent “fraudulent” presidential election that extended the longtime rule of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko.