Senate Votes Down Ted Cruz's Bill To Impose Sanctions Over Nord Stream Pipeline
WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBSDFW.COM/CNN) - The Senate on January 13 voted down legislation from republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas to sanction entities associated with Russia's controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
Needing 60 votes to pass, it failed 55-44. A handful of Democrats running for reelection voted with Republicans, including Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Mark Kelly of Arizona and Raphael Warnock of Georgia. Democratic Sens. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Jacky Rosen of Nevada also crossed the aisle.
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was the lone Republican to oppose the bill.
The Biden administration had argued that the sanctions would undercut US efforts to deter the threat from Russia. A number of Democrats had been weighing whether to break from the White House and back the Cruz measure, wary about appearing soft on Russia amid rising tensions with Ukraine and eager to send a strong message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, including over the pipeline that runs from Russia to Germany.
The vote came after Democrats reached a compromise last month with Cruz, who agreed to lift his holds on multiple Biden administration State Department nominees if he got a vote on his sanctions measure.
Ahead of the vote, Senate Foreign Relations Chair Bob Menendez took to the floor to urge members to vote no, and lobbied for his own bill that would impose sanctions only if Putin decides to invade Ukraine.
"This legislation makes it absolutely clear that the U.S. Senate will not stand idly by as the Kremlin threatens a re-invasion of Ukraine," the New Jersey Democrat said in a statement Wednesday.
"Ultimately the most effective sanction on Russia is a strong and unified Ukraine, and I look forward to working with my Democratic and Republican colleagues so that we can provide the people of Ukraine the type of support they need to confront the bully in Moscow."
Menendez had been leading the charge against the Cruz bill all week. "Putin wants to see Nord Stream 2. If somehow it's killed before any potential invasion, he has one less reason not to invade Ukraine," Menendez said Tuesday. "But if we have the mother of all sanctions levied against him personally and Russia, which is what my legislation will do, then ultimately that is a real deterrent, and a calculation for Putin to have to take into consideration as it relates to invading Ukraine."
Cruz believes that the newly constructed 750-mile pipeline, which is not yet operating, would empower Putin and allow him to hold dangerous leverage over Europe by controlling the flow of much-needed natural gas there. The Ukrainian government had come out in support of his plan.
Cruz argued that if sanctions aren't enforced, it would be existential for Ukraine. "And days or weeks or months from now -- If we turn on the television set and see Russian tanks in the streets of Kiev, the reason will be that the United States Senate heard the pleas of our Ukrainian allies and we turned a deaf ear to them. I pray that we don't do so. The eyes of history are upon us and this body, Republicans and Democrats, to rise to the occasion."
The Biden administration on Wednesday finalized sanctions options in the event that Russia invades Ukraine, according to senior administration officials, as talks were ongoing in Europe between US, Russian and NATO officials aimed at averting a war.
The Biden administration has sanctions targets and implementation measures "ready to go to be issued when those tanks cross the border," a senior administration official said. "The final package will depend upon exactly what scenario we are facing ... but we are no longer at the point where we have just a memo that lays out options. We have concrete actions that we are ready to hit the return key on."
(© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The CNN Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company contributed to this report.)
