ICYMI: President Biden Signs into Law Cruz Amendment Requiring Accountability for Corrupt Officials Linked to Putin’s Nord Stream 2 Pipeline

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) issued the following statement today after President Biden signed into law language Cruz authored requiring accountability for corruption officials responsible for Vladimir Putin’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was added to the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and signed into law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024.

Following passage, Sen. Cruz said, “Putin’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline is a project explicitly designed to allow Russia to coerce our European allies through energy blackmail, which was pushed into existence through pervasive corruption. The completion of the pipeline directly enabled Putin to launch his all-out war against Ukraine. We have to make sure every corrupt official involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project is held accountable for their activities, and that the pipeline remains offline forever.”

Background:

In addition to this measure, Sen. Cruz secured four other bipartisan victories in this year’s NDAA. He secured inclusion of a provision to streamline the presidential permitting process for building four bridges across the Rio Grande in Brownsville, Laredo, and Eagle Pass, Texas. These bridges will boost the Texas and U.S. economy by billions.

Sen. Cruz also secured passage of language ensuring that B-1 bombers stationed in Abilene, TX remain in the Air Force fleet as long as they’re needed for national security. Another measure prohibits the DOD from maintaining JROTC programs at any private school operated or controlled by entities linked to the Chinese Communist Party. He also secured passage of a bill to counter efforts by the Maduro regime to seize Americans, including Texans, hostage. It requires the State Department to produce a detailed report on efforts by the government of Venezuela to detain American citizens.

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