A bill that would direct the State Department to consider naming Russia a state sponsor of terrorism is back in the limelight.
First introduced in April 2018 by Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., S. 2780 requires the State Department to determine within 90 days and report to Congress whether Russia should be designated as a state sponsor of terror under U.S. law.
A designation would limit U.S. foreign assistance and ban on defense exports and sales, and other restrictions. Currently, the designation applies to four countries: North Korea, Iran, Syria and Sudan.
Last year, Gardner’s bill was read twice and then referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. He again introduced the resolution last week.
In an op-ed in The New York Times almost exactly a year ago, Gardner said the designation made moral sense.
“Russia has invaded its neighbors Georgia and Ukraine, it supports the murderous regime of Bashar al-Assad and our enemies in Afghanistan, and it is engaged in active information warfare against Western democracies, including meddling in the 2016 United States elections,” he wrote then.