New Bill Would Cancel Diesel Waiver and Force Satellite Reports to Congress

A bill in the House would reverse a Treasury Department decision that reopened the door to Russian diesel, and require intelligence agencies to tell Congress within a day if Ukraine's satellite communications are cut off. The measure responds to two decisions made in October: a waiver issued on October 9 covering transactions in Russian diesel, and reports starting October 13 that Ukraine's access to Starlink and Starshield satellite links had been restricted. Ukrainian officials said on October 24 that connection speeds were restored.

The bill, called the Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Act of 2026, is sponsored by Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican who co-chairs the Congressional Ukraine Caucus. Don Bacon of Nebraska and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington are co-sponsors. It would cancel the October 9 waiver, which expires April 7, 2027, block future waivers for Russian energy imports, and send the measure to three House committees.

President Donald Trump has defended the waiver. After talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said Russia had agreed to supply more than 300,000 metric tons of diesel to U.S. and global markets. Diesel prices have risen during supply disruptions tied to the war in Iran. Fitzpatrick said, "We must not import a single drop of Russian oil." Bacon said Congress "must be a check to the president's egregious appeasement to Putin."

On satellite service, eight lawmakers from both parties wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asking the Pentagon to widen its Starshield contract. The group included Representatives Marcy Kaptur, Fitzpatrick and Mike Quigley, and Senators Mark Kelly, Thom Tillis and Elissa Slotkin. They asked for restored speeds, coverage for Ukrainian operations over Russian territory, and a shift from commercial Starlink to government-contracted Starshield. The letter said service decisions "should not be left solely to the discretion of a private provider."

Reports from Ukraine said restrictions on October 13 broke communications for drones and other platforms moving faster than 100 miles per hour, which slowed guidance of defensive drones. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the limits stayed in place after Trump said service had been restored following contact with Musk. A Ukrainian official told RFE/RL that SpaceX had not responded to Kyiv about the earlier limits, and said, "no one has explained what happened or what will happen next."

Several members of Congress are seeking records on who ordered the limits. Representative Gregory Meeks and Senator Peter Welch led six lawmakers in questioning Elon Musk's account that the military and the president decided on restrictions, citing reports that Musk proposed them. Senator Richard Blumenthal wants written answers from Musk by November 5 and a SpaceX briefing by November 12. Representatives Sam Liccardo, Ro Khanna and Jimmy Panetta asked White House chief of staff Susie Wiles for a government-wide investigation. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Trump and other officials did not order or know of the limits. Tillis wrote on X that whoever gives Putin "the gift of a more vulnerable Ukraine" should "have the guts to put their name on it." The bill now sits with three House committees.