WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) called on Congress on Tuesday to immediately take up his legislation S.2780, to require the State Department to determine if Russia is a State Sponsor of Terror. Gardner spoke about Russia’s continued violations in a Helsinki Commission hearing and in the weekly Senate Leadership Press Conference on Tuesday.



Excerpt from Press Conference

“Four years ago today nearly 300 people were killed when a Russian missile system was used over eastern Ukraine to shoot down a Malaysia airlines flight. Russia has not only downed the commercial airliner, it invaded its neighbors Georgia and Ukraine, supports the murderous Assad regime and our enemies in Afghanistan. It has engaged in active information warfare against western democracies, including meddling in the United States elections 2016 and elsewhere. Early this year they crossed yet another line when they poisoned two individuals on allied soil in a chemical agent attack. I’ve introduced legislation to require the State Department to consider within the next 90 days whether or not Russia should be listed as a state sponsor of terror and I hope that legislation will be heard soon.”







NOTE: Video of Senator Gardner at Press Conference here NOTE: Video from Senator Gardner at Helsinki Commission Hearing here

S.2780, to require the State Department to determine if Russia is a State Sponsor of Terror

The legislation requires the State Department to determine within 90 days and report to Congress whether the Russian Federation should be designated as a State Sponsor of terror under United States law. This designation is made by the Secretary of State for countries that “have repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism” and currently includes North Korea, Iran, Syria, and Sudan.





Gardner’s Op-Ed in New York Times





Gardner’s release on his legislation

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Cory Gardner is a member of the U.S. Senate serving Colorado. He sits on the Energy & Natural Resources Committee, the Foreign Relations Committee, the Commerce, Science, & Transportation Committee, and the Budget Committee, and is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy.