US Senate to vote on Russian crude oil ban

The Senate is set Thursday to vote on legislation that would bar U.S. imports of Russian oil, gas and coal, sending the measure back to the House which plans to quickly pass the measure and send to the president’s desk for his signature.

Similar to the version the House passed in March, the Senate legislation would bar the import of Russian oil, gas, and coal and other products, consistent with a prohibition put in place by the White House, according to a spokesman for bill author Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat. 

The White House’s ban includes petroleum and other oils and allows for a 45-day wind down period for deliveries of existing purchases already under contract. The House plans to vote on the measure Thursday, Representative James P. McGovern, who chairs the House Rules Committee, said.

The Senate bill, which the chamber plans to vote on immediately after a bill on Russian trade prohibitions, altered the House version, which was passed by a 414-17 vote last month, necessitating another vote in the chamber.

“This package is about bringing every tool of economic pressure to bear on Vladimir Putin and his oligarch cronies,” Wyden said in a statement. “Putin’s Russia does not deserve to be a part of the economic order that has existed since the end of World War II. Ending normal trade relations hammers home that Putin has made Russia into a pariah state.”