Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., said Jan. 22 that he plans to reintroduce a bill to prohibit Americans from owning the publicly traded securities of U.S.-sanctioned companies. Sherman made his comment about the People's Republic of China Military and Human Rights Capital Markets Sanctions Act during the House Financial Services Committee’s organizational meeting for the new 119th Congress. Sherman previously introduced the bill in March 2024 (see 2409270021).
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., President Donald Trump’s choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Jan. 21 that she would favor reimposing sanctions on Iran for violating its nuclear weapons-related obligations.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee is forming a task force to improve how the government handles foreign military sales and export controls, committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., announced Jan. 22 during a committee organizational meeting.
President Donald Trump and lawmakers should carry out a “comprehensive” review of past U.S. technology and investment restrictions involving semiconductors, including the range of recent export controls over advanced chips and related equipment that resulted from the Biden administration’s “small yard, high fence” strategy, the chip industry said.
The chairman of the House Select Committee on China said Jan. 22 that the U.S. should take a harder line against China's aggressive policies on trade, investment and other matters.
House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., announced Jan. 17 that he has reintroduced two sanctions bills aimed at Russian activities in Ukraine.
The Senate Finance Committee voted 16-11 Jan. 21 to approve Scott Bessent to be treasury secretary, sending the nomination to the full Senate for its consideration. Opponents raised several concerns about Bessent, including allegations he avoided paying Medicare taxes. The vote came five days after Bessent testified before the committee for his confirmation hearing (see 2501160062).
Vice President JD Vance swore in former Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., as secretary of state Jan. 21, a day after the Senate voted unanimously to approve Rubio's nomination. On the first day in his new role, Rubio was scheduled to meet with his counterparts from Australia, India and Japan. At his Jan. 15 confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio defended the role of sanctions and said he hopes to reverse a decline in the State Department’s influence in foreign policy-making (see 2501150066).
The Treasury Department recently published more guidance on its outbound investment prohibition and notification rules (see 2412160044), including new FAQs on how certain portions of the rules apply to in-house lawyers, the rule’s “knowledge standard,” the scope of transactions that are covered, and joint filings.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 17 unanimously upheld a law requiring China’s ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban on the popular social media application in the U.S.