Democratic and Republican aides are skeptical the Senate can quickly move this week on the House-passed bill that banned oil, gas and coal imports from Russia.
They say the bill will likely need to undergo some changes before it can pass the Senate and the bill is on the backburner to the must-pass government funding bill.
While most lawmakers agree that Congress should take further action to ban energy imports from Russia as it wages war against Ukraine, the nuances of how to structure such a proposal and differences among members about how much to stymie Russian involvement in the World Trade Organization is likely to bog down any fast-track. Members of the Finance Committee, including Chair Ron Wyden, have made clear they want to see the House version strengthened back to the original version that was agreed to with Republicans.
Amending the House bill back to its previous form is likely take time and could come with additional pushback from the White House that would need to be overcome.
It’s always possible Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer could ask for unanimous consent to fast track this, but sources say there would likely be objections from both Republicans and Democrats on the current version of the bill.
