Brian Fitzpatrick has now introduced the bill he promised two weeks ago. On October 23, he joined fellow Republican Don Bacon and Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in putting the Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Act before the House. Both parties are challenging two decisions that matter directly to Ukraine: whether Russian fuel can enter the American market despite a federal ban, and whether Washington can interrupt critical intelligence support without immediate scrutiny from Congress.
The Russian Oil Waiver
On October 9, the Treasury Department issued General License 135, authorizing transactions involving Russian diesel, including imports into the United States. Congress had already passed a bipartisan prohibition on Russian energy imports in 2022. Fitzpatrick’s bill would nullify the new license and bar Treasury from spending funds to purchase Russian oil.
Fitzpatrick’s argument is straightforward: a ban enacted by Congress is mandatory, and the administration’s waiver cannot override it. Allowing Russian fuel back into the US market would weaken the effort to cut off revenue sustaining Putin’s war.
The Intelligence Provision
The bill would also safeguard the flow of critical US intelligence to Ukraine. If the administration suspends that support, it would have to notify Congress within 24 hours.
That requirement would not make a pause harmless. It would make it harder to impose one quietly, leaving lawmakers to discover afterward that Ukraine had lost information it needs while defending itself.
The House Test
Introduction is the first step, not a floor vote. Fitzpatrick previously promised to use a discharge petition to move the bill past House leadership and committee obstacles. That procedure requires 218 signatures.
Whether he pursues it, and whether enough members sign, will show how far congressional resistance to Trump’s Russian fuel policy extends beyond public objections.
Congress now has a concrete choice: defend the Russian energy ban it passed and insist on oversight when support for Ukraine is put at risk, or let the administration make exceptions on both fronts.
The three sponsors have put both the diesel waiver and intelligence support into one legislative fight.