Connecticut House Delegation Statement on President Trump Waiving Russia Sanctions

Hartford, CT - Today, Reps. John B. Larson (CT-01), Joe Courtney (CT-02), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Jim Himes (CT-04), and Jahana Hayes (CT-05) responded to recent news that President Trump waived sanctions on Russia:

"Last month, we warned that the Senate's sanctions bill left enforcement to the discretion of a President who has repeatedly demonstrated he is unwilling to stand up to Russia. He has proved us right. Less than a month after signing these sanctions into law, President Trump waived them before they could take effect.

"It did not have to be this way. The Ukraine Support Act, which passed the House in June, paired the authorization of military aid for Ukraine with sanctions that could actually be enforced. It set a higher bar for any waiver, required advance notice to Congress, and gave Congress the power to review sanctions relief for Putin. That is exactly the accountability we needed to ensure this President could not waive sanctions on a whim.

"The Senate should take up the Ukraine Support Act now, and every Republican who voted for these sanctions should join us in demanding the President enforce them. The Ukrainian people are being abandoned by President Trump - we cannot allow this to happen."