Tuesday, in the Senate Banking Committee, U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly continued his efforts to increase pressure on North Korea for its nuclear weapons program and dangerous provocations. The Committee unanimously supported the Banking Restrictions Involving North Korea (BRINK) Act, which included a Donnelly amendment that would help ensure the Department of Treasury has the tools and resources it needs to effectively enforce US sanctions globally. The BRINK Act will now advance for full Senate consideration.
Donnelly, a member of the Senate Banking Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee, said about his amendment, “Sanctions play a large role in US foreign policy today, as large a role as they ever have. We have a lot on the line with our sanctions efforts against adversaries like North Korea…Moreover, if the Department doesn’t have the people or the funding it needs to be effective, we need to know.”
Donnelly has called for increased sanctions to counter North Korea’s weapons program and crack down on those enabling the rogue regime. As Ranking Member of the Banking Committee’s National Security and International Trade and Finance Subcommittee, Donnelly co-led a hearing with Subcommittee Chairman Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) to assess U.S. and international sanctions against North Korea and China in relation to North Korea’s nuclear missile program, and to push the Administration on its options to expand sanctions. And Donnelly and Sasse recently continued their calls for increased sanctions on both North Korea and China, designed to crack down on North Korea’s weapons program. Following the Administration’s latest sanctions imposed against North Korea in September, Donnelly welcomed the additional action, which was in line with the Senator’s push.
Earlier this year, Donnelly helped shape increased sanctions on North Korea, Russia, and Iran, which the Senate passed and President Trump signed into law. In September, the Senate passed the bipartisan national defense bill, which included Donnelly’s amendment requiring a strategy from the Pentagon to confront the threat posed by North Korea.
To see Senator Donnelly discuss his amendment in the Banking Committee, click the image above or click here.
