Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, urged the Commerce Department this month to make several changes to “strengthen” the Bureau of Industry and Security’s new interim rule restricting firearms exports.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called on Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., on July 16 to resign after the former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was found guilty in a federal corruption trial. It was not immediately clear whether Menendez would accept Schumer's recommendation. Menendez stepped down as chairman in September 2023 after he was indicted (see 2309280005). He remains a member of the committee, where he has been a vocal critic in recent years of a Trump-era rule that transferred the export control jurisdiction of certain weapons from the State Department to the Commerce Department (see 2110050029, 2109210058 and 2001170030), among other export control and sanctions issues.

If NATO considers adding Ukraine to the alliance, it should require the country to limit potential investment from China to address security concerns, according to a new report by Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Rep. Maria Salazar, R-Fla., introduced a resolution last week opposing the lifting of sanctions against Cuba or the removal of Cuba from the State Department’s state sponsors of terrorism list.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said July 11 he has told Indian leaders to stop buying new Russian military equipment or risk losing his support for U.S. arms exports to the South Asian country.

The Senate Armed Services Committee wants the Defense Department to give lawmakers a progress report by March 1 on technology development collaboration activities being conducted under Pillar II of the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) security partnership.

Two Califorinia Democrats introduced a bill to impose a $150 per ton fee on greenhouse gas emissions on cargo ships arriving in U.S. ports, plus $6.30 per pound for nitrogen oxides, $18 per pound for sulfur dioxide and $38.90 per pound for particle pollution emitted in U.S. waters. They estimated the fee would bring in $250 billion over 10 years.

Two Republicans asked the Biden administration July 11 to provide a classified briefing on Microsoft’s new partnership with Group 42 Holding Ltd. (G42), a United Arab Emirates-based artificial intelligence company with ties to China.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved several export control and sanction bills July 10, including a resolution that would block the Bureau of Industry and Security’s new interim final rule restricting firearms exports (see 2406100048).

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., urged the Commerce Department July 8 to increase its efforts to stem the flow of advanced computing chips to China.