The 116th U.S. Congress formally convened on January 3. November’s mid-term elections produced clear winners and clear losers. The Democratic Party is definitely in the “W” column with a resounding majority of 235-199 (the 9th Congressional District in North Carolina is still disputed). Control over the House of Representatives passed upon the convening of the new Congress. The Republicans can take some solace in having held on to the Senate and slightly increased their majority to 53-47.
But, what do these shifts in Washington power mean to Ukraine and its position in America’s Capitol going forward? Now that the electioneering signs are down, was Ukraine a winner or a loser?
To answer that question, it is useful to look at the core of Ukraine’s “constituency” in the House of Representatives and the Senate, which can be found in the Congressional Ukraine Caucus and the Senate Ukraine Caucus.
There are few things that both sides of the aisle agree upon other than the adage about campaigning: “Never pick up a baby and not kiss it.” The other exception is the subject of Ukraine. As one congressman put it, “We don’t agree on much of anything here, except when it comes to Ukraine.”
With this approach in mind, the Congressional Ukraine Caucus (CUC) was formed as a bi-partisan caucus in 1997 at the initiative of Congressman Sander Levin and heavy lobbying by Ukrainian American individuals and organizations. Prior to the mid-term elections there were 50 congresspersons in the caucus (out of a total of 435). The chairs of the CUC in the 115th Congress were Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.); Andy Harris (R-Md.); Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and Sander Levin (D-Mich.). All three of the co-Chairs running for re-election won their respective races. Out of the 50 members, nine either retired or did not get re-elected. Notable among these is Rep. Levin, one of the original founders of the caucus, who retired, as did caucus member Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). Congressman Levin has been replaced in the new Congress by his son, Andy Levin, who is expected to join the Ukrainian caucus. A co-chair has not been chosen yet to fill the elder Rep. Levin’s post.
In the House leadership, Rep. Nancy Pelosi has assumed her previous position as speaker of the House. This bodes well for Ukraine since she is a member of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus. One of the important duties and powers of the speaker is determining what legislation is put before the House for a vote. In what is the political equivalent of “running the table,” chairs of key committees affecting Ukraine will be held by Democratic members of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus: the powerful Appropriations Committee is being chaired by Nita Lowey of New York; the Armed Services Committee by Adam Smith of Washington; the Energy and Commerce Committee by Frank Pallone of New Jersey; and, the Committee on Foreign Affairs by Eliot Engel of New York.
One race in the House midterms was especially noteworthy: Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) lost his race for re-election. Rep. Rohrabacher is noteworthy because he was a die-hard advocate and defender of Vladimir Putin – even going so far as to justify Russia’s annexation of Crimea and defending Russia’s aggression in the Donbas region of Ukraine. While considered somewhat of a crackpot by many Democrats and Republicans alike, his actions with respect to Ukraine were serious and malevolent.
On the Senate side, the Senate Ukraine Caucus also is a bipartisan caucus, formed in February 2015 by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) “to strengthen the political, military, economic and cultural relationship between the United States and Ukraine.” There are presently 15 senators in the Caucus – nine Democrats and six Republicans. The organizational structure includes four vice-chairs: Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). Two members of the caucus, both Democrats, Joe Connelly of Indiana and Bill Nelson of Florida, lost their bids for re-election.
One of the key Senate committees affecting Ukraine is, of course, the Senate Armed Services Committee, which has been chaired by Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), who assumed the post upon the death of John McCain (R-Ariz.). While not as outspoken as Sen. McCain, Sen. Inhofe is well known for his criticism of Russia and Vladimir Putin, and his strong support for Ukraine. He also is a member of the Senate Ukraine Caucus.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee prior to the mid-terms was chaired by Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who chose not to run for re-election. The chairmanship is now in the hands of Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, who is not considered to be as hawkish on Russia as Sen. Corker; however, he is known to regard Russia as a very serious threat. The membership of the Foreign Relations Committee includes a number of very strong supporters of Ukraine including Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland who is the ranking member (Democrat) on the committee. Also, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Sen. Mark Rubio (R-Fla.) are known for their condemnation of Russia and support for Ukraine. As the 116th Congress begins, Sens. Menendez and Rubio are both in favor of ratcheting up pressure on Russia by, among other things, making it harder for Russia to issue sovereign debt.
The Congressional Ukraine Caucus and Senate Ukraine Caucus provide a focal point for like-minded representatives and senators to discuss, draft and sponsor legislation to support and assist Ukraine in its further development as a democracy and, at the same time, assist in the defense of that democracy. It is important for all Ukrainian Americans to exercise their right to vote in elections and to encourage their elected representatives and senators to join the respective Ukrainian caucus. For information regarding the membership of each caucus, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_Ukrainian_Caucus and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senate_Ukraine_Caucus.
Bohdan Shandor is an attorney. He serves as chair of the Ukrainian American Bar Association’s Committee on Legislative Affairs.