Senate Democrats said they supported the Biden administration’s recent decision to suspend certain sanctions against Venezuela but urged the president to reimpose the measures “absent concrete steps by” the Nicolas Maduro-led regime to end its crackdown on civil society and political opposition.

Leaders of the Senate and House Armed Services committees should ensure the upcoming 2024 defense spending bill includes new measures protecting U.S. outbound investments when the two chambers work on a compromise text for the legislation, a bipartisan group of lawmakers said in a Nov. 20 letter. The more than 40 lawmakers suggested the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act should feature an amendment included as part of the Senate’s version of the NDAA, passed in June, that would require companies to notify the Treasury Department 14 days before making certain investments in several “countries of concern,” including China (see 2307260029 and 2307280052).

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., introduced a resolution last week to block a $320 million U.S. weapons sale to Israel. The resolution, which is co-sponsored by Reps. Cori Bush, D-Mo.; Summer Lee, D-Pa.; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; Delia Ramirez, D-Ill.; and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., seeks to block the “proposed export license” for shipments of Spice Family Guided Bomb Assemblies to Israel. Omar said the weapon has been used by Israel in its siege against Gaza in response to the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas last month.

The Senate voted 87-11 to approve a laddered temporary spending bill that will continue government appropriations at last fiscal year's level through Jan. 19 for some agencies and through Feb. 2 for others.

The leaders of the House Select Committee on China said they will support a bipartisan bill introduced earlier this week that could expand the Treasury Department’s upcoming outbound investment prohibitions to cover more Chinese technology sectors and additional countries (see 2311140013).

A House bill with bipartisan support would authorize funding for an "Iranian Sanctions Enforcement Fund," a body that would help DHS "pay expenses relating to seizures and forfeitures of property made with respect to" Iranian sanctions violations. The legislation would specifically authorize a one-time investment of $150 million for the fund, "which it is required to pay back within 10 years, adjusted for inflation," according to a November press release from Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, who introduced the bill with Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif.

The EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization members should sanction Iranian airlines and refuse airport access to Iranian aircraft, Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, said in a resolution introduced this week. Noting the U.S. has sanctions in place against Mahan Air, Iran Air, Saha Airlines, Qeshm Air and Qeshm Fars Air, Self said some of those airlines reportedly operate in at least 24 airports across Eurasia, including in NATO and EU countries.

Senate and House Democrats sent a letter to the Energy Department this week urging the agency to rethink its approval process for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. More than 60 lawmakers said they are concerned the agency’s approach doesn’t “fully or accurately consider how LNG exports negatively impact the climate, environmental justice communities, or increase domestic energy prices” and asked DOE to begin a rulemaking to update its permit review process.

Senate Republicans this week urged the Biden administration to reverse its decision to temporarily ease sanctions against Venezuela, saying the reprieve will “only further enable” the Nicolas Maduro-led regime’s crackdown on civil society and political opposition. “We implore you to reverse course and recommit to a strong campaign of diplomatic and economic pressure to hasten a transition to a democratic government in Venezuela,” the lawmakers, including Jim Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a letter to the White House.

The leaders of the Senate Finance Committee introduced a bill that would require USDA and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to produce annual reports identifying the acts, policies or practices that create significant barriers to exports of U.S. fruits and vegetables or distort their own markets so that U.S. fruits, vegetables, nuts and flowers cannot be competitive.