Capital is evidence

US energy companies, including Exxonmobil and Chevron, are opposed to the adoption of a new law on the expansion of sanctions against Russia. Oil lobbyists in the Congress proposed to make a number of exceptions from restrictive measures to the bill, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Oil companies do not suit measures prohibiting working with Russian individuals and legal entities under sanctions. Exxonmobil and Chevron are afraid of closing their oil and gas projects with Russia's participation around the world.

American industrial companies, in particular General Electric, also carefully monitors the passage of the bill. In industry and the banking sector, it is believed that toughened sanctions can worsen the situation of American companies compared to their competitors in the world.

On June 14, the US Senate approved the bill on strengthening the restrictive against Iran, as well as the introduction of new sanctions against Russia for interference with the 2016 American presidential campaign. The same document obliges the president of the country to coordinate any softening of sanctions with Congress. Only two Republicans voted against - Mike Lee and Rand Paul.

However, on June 20, the House of Representatives, on the initiative of members of the Republican Party , abandoned a quick vote under the bill. The document was sent for study to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. The main claim was that the laws that may be related to the income of the United States should be advanced by the House of Representatives, not the Senate.

This caused the discontent of a number of congressmen. "The republican leadership must, without delay, consider the bill so that the House of Representatives votes for it and sends the president for signature," said the representative of the Democrats in the Eliot Engel Foreign Affairs Committee. In his opinion, otherwise the White House will have time to "weaken these key efforts to bring the Kremlin to justice."

On June 23, a press secretary of the US President Sean Spicer said at a briefing that the White House wants to maintain flexibility when applying sanctions against Russia and other countries. "I think the main thing that bothers us in the approach to sanctions - how the Congress draws them up and is it not fraught with a potential undermining of the powers of the executive branch," Spicer said. In his opinion, the administration should be able to show flexibility in the implementation of sanctions, "to effectively achieve the goal."

A senior source of The Washington Post in the White House also noted that the presidential administration Donald Trump is unhappy with the provision of the bill that the president will not be able to cancel sanctions without the consent of the congress. The source emphasized that claims relate precisely to the issue of separation of powers, and not to a specific issue of relations with Russia.

On June 29, the US Senate has finalized the draft law on sanctions against Russia and sent it to the House of Representatives . In the new version, the document adopted "with the general consent" of senators. Thus, it is considered approved by all 100 votes, while before two legislators were still against it. According to one of the senators, the "technical amendments" introduced to the bill did not lead to a change in its essence.

In the House of Representatives they are ready to accept the document as soon as possible. However, the document will be considered after July 10, when the parliamentary holidays are completed on the occasion of Independence Day. Thus, the vote will take place after the G20 summit, which will be held in Hamburg on July 7-8. The first personal meeting of Trump with Russian President Vladimir Putin is planned on the fields of this event.