Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, has introduced legislation that would employ increased sanctions to persuade Russia to come back into compliance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
But Smith’s bill might already be too limited a step for the panel, where one subcommittee mark of the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act would require the Defense Department to establish a U.S. program of record for a “road mobile ground-launched cruise missile system” within the 500-kilometer to 5,500-kilometer range prohibited by the treaty. Politico also reported Monday that the Trump administration is considering entirely withdrawing from the treaty.
Russia and the United States have been fighting over the compliance issue for years, and U.S. officials earlier this year said Moscow had deployed a ground-launched cruise missile that would breach the terms of the treaty.
In response, Smith’s legislation would require the president by April 1, 2018, to deliver to congressional defense committees a sanctions strategy for Russian violation of the INF treaty. That should involve heightened use of asset freezes and travel prohibitions, along with bans on financial transactions, government-to-government contracts, and other measures, according to the text of Smith’s bill.
The economic penalties would be suspended only after the president has notified Congress that Russia is once again meeting the terms of the accord.
The INF-focused measures are part of a broader proposal from Smith to increase security and deterrence in Europe against Russian aggression, such as requiring the Pentagon to establish and enact a “comprehensive strategy to counter threats by the Russian Federation.”
Smith’s bill, filed June 22 with 21 Democratic co-sponsors, has been referred to the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees.
