Elizabeth Rosenberg, President Joe Biden’s nominee to be assistant secretary for terrorist financing at the Treasury Department, was confirmed by the Senate Dec. 18. Rosenberg will oversee some of the agency’s sanctions work (see 2106220037 and 2110050029). The Senate earlier this month confirmed Brian Nelson as undersecretary of Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
Matthew Axelrod, President Joe Biden’s nominee to oversee export enforcement work at the Bureau of Industry and Security, was confirmed by the Senate Dec. 18. Axelrod will become the first Senate-confirmed assistant secretary for export enforcement in more than five years. He recently told Congress he wants to raise the profile of U.S. export enforcement through more deterrence efforts and large penalties (see 2110080045).
The House Foreign Affairs Committee endorsed a bill that would impose sanctions against individuals and entities "who actively undermine civilian-led democracy and human rights in Sudan," according to co-sponsor Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif. The bipartisan bill, also co-sponsored by Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., was passed out of committee on Dec. 9. Sudan had a coup in October, and there was violence against civilians who protested the coup. Kim said in a press release, “The United States is a beacon of hope and opportunity and should support our allies in their pursuit of liberty and democracy. That is why I’m proud to lead the Sudan Democracy Act to help take concrete steps to show support for the brave people of Sudan as they peacefully protest for democracy and hold those responsible for undermining Sudan’s civilian-led democratic transition accountable." Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., supports similar language in that chamber.
The U.S. should lift all sanctions that may be preventing shipments of food, medicine and other humanitarian goods to Cuba, including restrictions on banks and personal remittances, more than 100 Democratic lawmakers wrote to President Joe Biden Dec. 14. Although the Treasury Department authorizes certain humanitarian aid to Cuba through its general licenses (see 2004160039 and 2108120025), the lawmakers said banks and humanitarian workers need more assurances.
The Senate on Dec. 16 passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which includes a sanctions provision targeting human rights abusers in China. The Senate approved the bill after it passed in the House earlier this week, when lawmakers reached a compromise on the legislation's language (see 2112140077). The bill is expected to be signed by President Joe Biden and become law.
Thea Kendler, President Joe Biden’s nominee for assistant secretary for export administration at the Bureau of Industry and Security, was confirmed by the Senate Dec. 14. Kendler previously worked on the U.S.'s criminal case against Huawei as an export control prosecutor and told lawmakers in September she will look to aggressively stop technology exports that may be used for human rights violations (see 2109210058).
A group of Senate and House Democrats called on the Biden administration to designate more spyware technology companies for human rights abuses, saying the designations will complement existing export restrictions meant to curb their sales of surveillance technologies to authoritarian governments. In a Dec. 15 letter to the Treasury and the State Department, the lawmakers said the U.S. should specifically impose Global Magnitsky sanctions against United Arab Emirates-based DarkMatter (see 2110220033), Israel-based NSO Group and European companies Nexa Technologies and Trovicor. The sanctions should target the companies as well as their CEOs and other senior executives, the letter said, adding that they all have sold surveillance technologies and services to help governments commit human rights violations.
Senate and House lawmakers reached a compromise agreement this week on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which includes a sanctions provision targeting human rights abusers in China. The text of the agreement, released just hours before it passed in the House on Dec. 14, would require the Biden administration to identify and sanction any foreign person, including Chinese government officials, responsible for “serious’ human rights abuses against Muslim minority groups in China's Xinjiang region. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki suggested President Joe Biden will support the bill. "We have been clear that we share Congress' view that action must be taken to hold [China] accountable for human rights abuses, and to address forced labor in Xinjiang," Psaki told reporters Dec. 14. The U.S. has already imposed a range of sanctions and other trade and investment restrictions against Chinese people and entities for human rights violations in Xinjiang, including an investment ban against SenseTime and sanctions against two Xinjiang officials this month (see 2112100034).
The U.S. may need to consider new multilateral sanctions against Russia for its continued military aggression in Ukraine, the leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Dec. 13. Committee Chair Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., and ranking member Michael McCaul, R-Texas., said the U.S. can make “no concessions” for Russia at the “expense” of Ukraine’s sovereignty. “We stand ready to work with the Administration and our transatlantic allies to deter further Russian aggression against Ukraine,” the lawmakers said, “including by imposing serious new sanctions on Russia should it continue its invasion into Ukraine.”
The Senate this week voted against a resolution that would have blocked a proposed weapons sale to Saudi Arabia. Senators on Dec. 7 voted 67-30 against the resolution, which aimed to stop the shipment of various missiles, including AIM-120C Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles and related equipment (see 2111050007). Before the vote, the Biden administration said it “strongly” opposes the resolution, adding that it would “undermine the President’s commitment to aid in our partner’s defenses at a time of increased missile and drone attacks against civilians in Saudi Arabia.”