Publications / H.R. 6156: Removal of Jackson-Vanik and Magnitsky Rule of Law Act
On 16 November 2012, the third anniversary of the death of whistleblowing lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 6156 with a wide bipartisan margin, lifting the outdated Jackson-Vanik travel restrictions, restoring Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR), and opening up a new visa ban regime against Russian officials accused of grave human rights violations. In a procedural vote to bring 6156 to the floor, Rules Committee Chair David Dreier (R-CA) noted: “A lot of us held out a great deal of hope for Russia, more so than we have right now, just a few years ago, and because we’ve seen backward steps. I’ve talked about my friend Mikhail Khodorkovsky , who, at this moment, is languishing in a Russian prison for simply criticizing Vladimir Putin. I’m here today in large part because I want Mikhail Khodorkovsky to be freed. I want to see an end to that kind of treatment of individuals.”