Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota says she will vote against a forthcoming bill that would ban the importation of Russian oil and levy further sanctions against Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine.
“That’s not only going to have a devastating impact on the people of Russia, but on Europe as well,” Omar said in an interview on “Rising” on The Hill TV. “When we’re having these conversations, they can’t be about just the immediate, gratifying response that we want to come up with.”
President Joe Biden on Tuesday banned US imports of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas, and coal after coming under pressure from Congress to do so, declaring that the US “will not be subsidizing Putin’s war.” The UK similarly announced on Tuesday that it will phase out Russian oil and gas imports by the end of 2022. The bans will likely raise gas prices, which reached an average of $4.17 per gallon in the US on Tuesday.
The House is working on a broader bill to do the same thing, and the body is expected to vote on that legislation on Tuesday night.
As of Tuesday afternoon, no legislative text had yet been released, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to colleagues that the legislation would include a “review” of Russia’s access to the World Trade Organization as well as “explore how we can further diminish Russia in the global economy.” The bill would also include an expansion of the Magnitsky Act, which allows the US to sanction entities that it deems to be human rights violators.
“That legislation does not just have a ban on oil, but it has other undesirable sanctions that I will not be supporting,” said Omar.
more of this idiocy here