The White House has already threatened to veto the document in its current form.
On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a draft defense budget for the next fiscal year (starting on October 1), which obliges the administration to tighten sanctions against the Nord Stream-2 and Turkish Stream pipelines. The vote was broadcast on the website of the lower house of the legislature.
The document requires the Washington administration to tighten the existing sanctions against the Russian gas pipelines Nord Stream-2 and Turkish Stream. In late December 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump signed the military budget for the current fiscal year, which obliges the administration to impose sanctions on these projects. Now restrictions should be imposed on foreign individuals who contribute significantly to the sale, rental or provision of ships for the laying of pipes intended for the construction of “Nord Stream – 2” and “Turkish Stream.
In addition, the budget project envisages allocation of almost $3.8 billion to the program “European Deterrence Initiative” aimed, according to the American authorities, at “deterring Russia”. As noted in the document, next fiscal year Ukraine may receive $250 million from the U.S. through the military line. American congressmen in the text of the project express concern over the intention of the U.S. administration to withdraw from the Treaty on Open Skies (POA).
Lawmakers are allocating $3.6 billion to “deter China in the Indian and Pacific Oceans region”. The draft prohibits the use of budget funds for “conducting nuclear tests or preparing for tests with nuclear explosions of any power”. The congressmen introduce a ban on the use of the TikTok application in electronic devices of government agencies of the country. Among other things, lawmakers are allocating $1 billion from the budget to the Pentagon to fight the Coronavirus pandemic.