WASHINGTON -- Following President Donald Trump's much-derided meeting with Vladimir Putin, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez and colleagues of both parties introduced legislation to impose new sanctions on Russia.
The Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act would require a two-thirds Senate vote to leave NATO; set up an Office of Cyberspace and the Digital Economy within the State Department to address cyberattacks; make it a crime to electronically target power plants, dams and other infrastructure.
The bill also would allow the Justice Department to file charges for hacking voting system used in federal elections; and require title insurance companies to provide details on those buying high-priced residential real estate.
"Vladimir Putin continues to pose a growing threat to our country and allies," said Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "This bill is the next step in tightening the screws on the Kremlin and will bring to bear the full condemnation of the United States Congress so that Putin finally understands that the U.S. will not tolerate his behavior any longer."
Congress overwhelmingly passed a Russian sanctions bill last year by veto-proof margins, forcing Trump to sign the measure, but the administration has not carried out several provisions, said Menendez, D-N.J.
They included imposing sanctions on oil products and financial transactions, and restrictions on deals with Russia's intelligence and defense sectors.
Besides Menendez, sponsors include Republicans Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Cory Gardner of Colorado and John McCain of Arizona, and Democrats Ben Cardin of Maryland and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire.
Menendez is one of several senators of both parties who have gone after Trump and administration aides following the president's closed-door meeting with Putin in Helsinski, Finland, on July 16.
After the meeting, Trump appeared to side with Putin over his own intelligence agencies, which have concluded that Russia intervened in the 2016 U.S. presidential election on his behalf.
Trump, standing alongside Putin, said: "I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial."
A day later, he said, "I accept our intelligence community's conclusion that Russia's meddling in the 2016 election took place. Could be other people also; there's a lot of people out there."
At a campaign-style rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, Trump insisted that he "had a great meeting with Putin" and rejected the findings of American intelligence when he said, "Russia is very unhappy that Trump won."
Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.