Russia Sanctions Bill Remains Stalled Despite Pressure from Zelenskyy’s Top Envoy

One of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s top envoys came to Washington to lobby the House to pass a sweeping Russia sanctions bill. But Republican leaders have not announced a vote, and a top Democrat says the bill may not reach the floor until after the November elections.

The legislation cleared the Senate 86-11 before senators left for their August recess and is now awaiting House action. The Ukrainian Embassy said meetings with envoy Vladyslav Vlasiuk focused on “the importance and urgency” of passing what it called the “bone crushing” sanctions bill to increase pressure on Russia and Iran.

But Vlasiuk’s meetings did not produce a clear path forward. Lawmakers remain divided over whether to pass the Senate bill unchanged or amp up Ukrainian help as some Democrats want, including more direct support for the country fighting against a Russian invasion. Democrats also want to revise provisions allowing President Donald Trump to impose tariffs.

Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, described his Wednesday meeting with Vlasiuk as “very good,” but he said he remained opposed to the Senate bill. Meeks he would continue talking with the envoy, though he does not expect the House to act before the midterms.

“It may be hard to do before the elections because we don’t have much time here,” Meeks told NOTUS on Wednesday, a day before the House is set to leave for another break. He said he thought the delay would give lawmakers more time to negotiate “so that as soon as we come back after elections, maybe we could get something done.”

That timeline conflicts with calls from the Trump administration and senators for the House to move swiftly.

Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a lead Democratic sponsor of the bill, urged the House to pass it, calling it a “moment of extreme urgency.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also urged the House on Wednesday to take up the bill, saying it would be “valuable for the president to have these tools available to him.” He accused Democrats of withholding additional tariff and sanctions authority while claiming to support Ukraine.

But House Republican leaders have not scheduled a vote or said whether they plan to bring up the Senate bill unchanged. The legislation remains absent from the House floor schedule.

The House is expected to return for another short session later this month before leaving again to campaign. Meeks said he does not expect the bill to be on the agenda then either.

The calendar leaves lawmakers with a difficult choice: Passing the Senate bill unchanged would send it directly to Trump; any House changes would send it back to the Senate, adding another step with little legislative time left before the election.

House Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast (R-Florida) told NOTUS that the bill falls under several committees and that lawmakers are still reviewing it.

“It’s being examined,” Mast said. “But it’s not an examination that’ll be done this week.”

The bill would impose sanctions on Russian officials, financial institutions, shadow-fleet vessels and state-owned energy projects. It would also authorize tariffs of up to 100% on the five largest purchasers of Russian oil and natural gas.

Meeks supports stronger sanctions on Russia but argues that the tariffs could raise prices for Americans and punish U.S. allies. He also says the bill gives Trump too much discretion to waive its provisions.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Monday that Democrats had not reached a caucus position on the bill and expected members to have “serious conversations” about it this week.

On Monday, Meeks joined Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts) and Ron Wyden (Oregon) and Reps. Richard Neal (Massachusetts) and Don Beyer (Virginia) in urging Trump to use his existing authority to put sanctions on Russia rather than wait for Congress to grant him new tariff powers.

“This bill, as it is, is not going to help the Ukrainians in the long run,” Meeks said.

Meeks instead wants lawmakers to negotiate the Senate package alongside the House-passed Ukraine Support Act, which includes security and reconstruction assistance, renewed lend-lease authority and other measures.

“We’ve got two bills. Our bill was bipartisan. Their bill was bipartisan,” Meeks said. “So let’s have further conversations.”

It remains unclear whether Meeks and other opponents of the Senate bill have enough votes to defeat it if Republican leaders bring it to the floor unchanged. Meeks said he is speaking with House members in both parties and senators about a possible deal.

Vlasiuk emphasized Ukrainians’ desperation and their desire for a sign that the U.S. is reengaging, Meeks said. Russia continues to strike Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure as another winter approaches.

Meeks declined to say whether Vlasiuk or the Ukrainian government was open to his proposal.

Other prominent supporters of Ukraine who spoke with Vlasiuk on Tuesday said the dispute should not delay the bill.

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland) said after meeting with Vlasiuk that he wants the House to pass the Senate legislation without changes.

“Do I think the bill is perfect? I don’t,” Hoyer told NOTUS. “But we don’t pass perfect bills here.”

Hoyer said he would oppose attaching the Ukraine Support Act or other legislation to the package. “I want to pass it pristine,” he said.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania), the co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, spoke briefly with Vlasiuk in a Capitol hallway. He also said the tariff dispute should not stop the bill.

“I would vote for it with tariffs, without tariffs,” Fitzpatrick said. “I’m not going to let the tariff piece stop my support for Ukraine.”

Fitzpatrick said he would support adding the House-passed assistance package because he had already voted for it. But he argued that a combined bill would not clear the Senate.

“Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” he said.

He said he told Vlasiuk that Zelenskyy should return to Washington and personally lobby the House, as he did before the Senate vote.

“He was here for the Senate. He’s got to come for the House,” Fitzpatrick said. “We’re very determined to get that done.”