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Washington, DC – House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican Michael McCaul has released the following statement in response to Secretary Blinken’s latest comments on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

“While we appreciate Secretary Blinken’s strong words on his opposition to the Nord Stream 2 project, it is the Biden Administration’s action – or lack of action – that is concerning. There are more than a dozen entities reportedly working on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline currently that should be sanctioned, as is required by law. If President Biden and Secretary Blinken want to make it clear they oppose the pipeline, which is already 95% complete, they should impose those mandatory sanctions. Immediately.

“I would also like to, once again, request the State Department provide Congress a clearer understanding of the ‘evidentiary threshold’ it is using when weighing additional sanctions in order to ensure it is not hiding behind ‘the need for more information’ to avoid new sanctions designations.”

Earlier this month, Rep. McCaul sent a letter with House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and August Pfluger (R-TX) expressing concerns over the lack of significant action on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and asking for clarity as to why entities reportedly engaged in sanctionable activities have yet to be sanctioned. The letter also includes a list of entities reportedly engaged in sanctionable activity.

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