Joaquin Castro : Castro Statement on Trump Administration's Failure to Impose New Russia Sanctions

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and House Foreign Affairs Committee, this evening released the following statement:

'Last July, the House passed the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act in a sweeping bipartisan vote of 419-3 that the President reluctantly signed into public law. But in blatant defiance of Congress, the Trump Administration failed to enact new Russia sanctions today as required by law and instead claimed the threat of sanctions to be simply deterrent enough. This sends a loud and clear signal that Trump sees no need to comprehensively and publicly punish those responsible for interfering in America's 2016 elections.

'We must defend our democracy, maintain credibility and deter any actor who would attempt to obstruct our democratic process. This includes sanctioning Russia and any other responsible players for their previous actions and sustaining pressure to deter them from doing it again.'

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