Dear Colleague on Legislative Package to Ban Russian Oil, Further Sanction Russia

Dear Democratic Colleague,

Today, President Biden again demonstrated America's strength and determination to hold Putin accountable for his premeditated, unprovoked war against Ukraine. The Congress commends the President for announcing action to stop the import of Russian energy products into the United States – which we will support by passing strong, bipartisan legislation to that effect today.

Our bill contains three major provisions that will further isolate Russia from the global economy and leave it weaker in every way:

• The bill will ban the import of Russian oil and energy products into the United States. This will cut off a major source of revenue for Putin.Separately, as we work to diminish the Russian economy, we remain laser-focused on bringing down energy costs for American families and our partners.
  
• The bill will take steps to review Russia's access to the World Trade Organization and explore how we can further diminish Russia in the global economy.
  
• The bill will reauthorize and strengthen the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act so that the United States can impose further sanctions on Russia. In 2012, the Congress took bipartisan action with the Magnitsky Act to impose sanctions on human rights abusers in Russia, while also normalizing trade relations. This standard was expanded in 2016 to apply globally: broadening the human rights abuses that can be punished with sanctions and bolstering coordination with our partners. Our new bill extends Global Magnitsky so that the United States can continue to punish Russia for its heinous attacks on Ukrainian civilians and its violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Because this legislation is an urgent imperative – both morally and for our security interests – the House will consider this legislation on the Floor today. It is our hope that we have a strong, bipartisan vote.

As I wrote in my letter to you on Sunday, the United States does not need to choose between defending our democratic values and protecting our economic interests. On a bipartisan and bicameral basis, the Congress will continue to work with the Administration to take every potential action to limit the costs of Putin's aggression on American families. This means focusing on ensuring the stability of global oil markets, while also diversifying our energy supply.

Thank you for your ongoing and unyielding commitment to defending Democracy.

NANCY