A bipartisan group of four lawmakers urged President Joe Biden to swiftly implement the recently enacted Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians (REPO) Act, which authorizes seizing frozen Russian central bank assets in the U.S. to help rebuild Ukraine (see 2401240069).

The farm bill that the House Agriculture Committee plans to mark up May 23 contains several foreign investment-related provisions, including a requirement that the Agriculture Department enter into a formal agreement with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. to ensure the two agencies share information on foreign transactions in a timely manner.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee this week plans to mark up a bill that is intended to help the Bureau of Industry and Security control exports of artificial intelligence systems and other new national security-related technologies (see 2405100063).

Three Senate committee chairs urged the Biden administration last week to continue enforcing a new executive order that allows the U.S. to sanction "foreign persons" responsible for increased violence in the West Bank (see 2402010053).

The House of Representatives voted 224-187 on May 16 to pass a bill that would require the Biden administration to stop holding up shipments of approved offensive weapons to Israel (see 2405130028). Proponents said the Israel Security Assistance Support Act would ensure Israel can defend itself against Hamas and other threats. However, the legislation faces an uphill fight in the Democrat-led Senate, and the White House issued a veto threat May 14 saying the bill would infringe on the president’s authority.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee on May 16 approved several bills that could impose sanctions on China, Russia and the Houthis and tighten export controls on China.

Congressional Republicans are asking the Biden administration to provide more information about its recent withholding of certain offensive weapons to Israel, a decision the lawmakers oppose.

A bipartisan group of five House members led by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., introduced a bill that would expand the list of Belarusian authorities who could face U.S. sanctions, Smith’s office announced May 15.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., introduced a bill May 14 that would prevent the Biden administration from withholding offensive weapons from Israel if the country conducts a full-scale invasion of the Gaza city of Rafah. The legislation has 17 Republican co-sponsors. Four House Republicans unveiled a similar bill last week (see 2405130028).

A bipartisan group of 11 senators issued a joint statement May 14 criticizing the Georgian parliament’s passage of a "Russian-style foreign agents bill" and reiterating their warning that Congress may respond with sanctions and other measures.