Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., warned Nvidia and other U.S. chip firms last week that they will face penalties if they send advanced AI chips to China.
Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and David McCormick, R-Pa., have introduced a bill that would require the executive branch to develop a strategy to counter deepening cooperation among U.S. "adversaries" in such areas as sanctions evasion and the sharing of restricted dual-use technology, the lawmakers announced May 27.
DOJ should investigate Chinese autonomous-trucking company TuSimple for violating U.S. export controls, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said May 30.
Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Wesley Hunt, both R-Texas, reintroduced a bill last week aimed at ensuring that courts can't vacate previously authorized permits for liquefied natural gas export projects. The Protect LNG Act was referred to Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the House Judiciary and Energy and Commerce committees. A Senate aide indicated in March that the legislation would be reintroduced (see 2503250003).
Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., a member of the committee, told Nvidia May 28 that they’re concerned the U.S. AI chipmaker’s planned research facility in Shanghai “risks violating the spirit, if not the written word, of U.S. export control regulations.”
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced a bill May 22 aimed at improving the sharing of advanced defense technology with Australia, Canada and the U.K.
Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., who chairs a House task force that is looking at ways to improve how the government handles arms sales (see 2501220086), introduced a bill May 23 that would raise the congressional notification thresholds for arms sales to adjust for inflation and geopolitical changes.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, applauded the Trump administration's decision last week to lift sanctions on Syria and urged the U.S. to help advance democracy in the country. "This is a positive step that will help Syria build a stable future," she said. "As we continue to lift restrictions, it is critical that we also increase our engagement with the Syrian authorities to help advance long-term stability, democracy and a more secure and prosperous future for the Syrian people and the region.”
Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Andy Kim, D-N.J., and Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., have been appointed to the Congressional-Executive Commission on China for the 119th Congress. Last year, the commission called for imposing export controls and foreign investment restrictions to prevent China from using biotechnology to commit human rights abuses (see 2412270037).
A bipartisan group of five senators, including Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., reintroduced a bill May 21 that would mandate sanctions against Haitian criminal gangs and the political and economic elites who support them.