Members of Congress to Secretaries Lew, Kerry: Sanction Russia’s State Arms Dealer

WASHINGTON, DC—A bipartisan group of 38 members of Congress today urged Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and Secretary of State John Kerry to sanction the Russian state arms dealer, Rosoboronexport. Implementing sanctions would prevent any more U.S. taxpayer dollars from subsidizing the state-sponsored enterprise. The group, led by Congresswomen Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Kay Granger (R-TX), contend that the Secretaries have the authority to do so under a recent Executive Order issued by President Obama in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

“As you know, President Obama expanded Executive Order 13660 providing you with the authority to block ‘all property and interests in property that are in the United States’, including of persons you determine ‘operate in the arms or related materiel sector in the Russian Federation’,” the representatives wrote. “We believe this gives you the authority to sanction Rosoboronexport in order to block any payments to the firm for the procurement of the remaining Mi-17 helicopters.”

Last month a group of lawmakers, once again led by DeLauro and Granger, asked Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to take similar actions, but the Defense Department has yet to act. Last year the Pentagon entered into a $553.8 million contract to purchase 30 Mi-17 helicopters from Rosoboronexport for the Afghan National Security Forces, despite strong bipartisan opposition in Congress. Reports indicate that 24 of those helicopters have yet to be delivered and the contract has not been paid in full.

A Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) reportquestioned the purchase of the 30 Mi-17s. It also showed that many Afghan National Security Force members are not able to operate or maintain these aircraft, despite Pentagon claims to the contrary.