A bipartisan group of six House members urged the Biden administration last week to step up enforcement of oil sanctions against Iran to reduce Tehran’s ability to fund terrorism.

Four Republican lawmakers urged the Biden administration Sept. 19 to carry out two new Iran sanctions laws, both of which have deadlines that already passed.

House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., said late Sept. 18 that he's working to build Senate support for his bill that would sanction foreign persons who contribute to the construction of a tunnel from Russia to the Crimean Peninsula.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and 10 other Republican senators introduced a wide-ranging China bill Sept. 19 that contains several export control, sanction and foreign investment provisions, including “modifying the Missile Technology Control Regime” to increase cooperation under the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) security partnership.

Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Tim Kaine, D-Va., both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced a bill Sept. 19 that would authorize the president to sanction foreign adversary entities that provide support to China’s maritime militia.

Thirty Republican senators issued a statement Sept. 17 criticizing a proposed Palestinian resolution at the U.N. General Assembly that reportedly calls for, among other things, countries to enforce sanctions on Israeli officials and cease the transfer of arms that Israel could use in the "Palestinian territories." Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., led the statement, which calls the resolution “an absolute disgrace that rewards terrorism.”

Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., urged European officials this week to increase sanctions on Iran for supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine, Politico reported.

Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., reiterated his call Sept. 17 for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to schedule Senate floor consideration of the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which the Senate Armed Services Committee marked up in June (see 2407300041). Senators have filed hundreds of potential amendments to the NDAA, including measures to improve export control management and restrict foreign investment (see 2407180045). Republicans accuse Democrats of delaying the NDAA to prevent controversial social issues from coming up before the November elections.

House Select Committee on China Chairman Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., and Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., urged the Treasury Department this week to expand the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. to include land purchases near Coast Guard facilities, Energy Department national laboratories, maritime ports and critical energy and telecommunications infrastructure.

Sen. George Helmy, D-N.J., who formally took office Sept. 9, has joined the Senate Foreign Relations, Banking and Finance committees, according to his initial website. Helmy was appointed to temporarily fill the Senate seat of Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who resigned from the chamber last month (see 2407240056). Helmy's new tenure will be short, as he is not running in the November election to replace Menendez.