The Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act, known by the acronym DASKA, was introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Ben Cardin (D-MD), John McCain (R-AZ), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) on August 2, 2018.
In a joint statement on August 2, 2018, Senator Lindsey Graham said, "Our goal is to change the status quo and impose crushing sanctions and other measures against PutinâÂÂs Russia until he ceases and desists meddling in the US electoral process, halts cyber-attacks on US infrastructure, removes Russia from Ukraine, and ceases efforts to create chaos in Syria. The sanctions and other measures contained in this bill are the most hard-hitting ever imposed â and a direct result of PutinâÂÂs continued desire to undermine American democracy. I strongly believe that DNI Coatsâ assessment â that the warning lights are blinking red when it comes to Russian meddling in the 2018 election â is accurate. These sanctions and other measures are designed to respond in the strongest possible fashion."
On August 8, the Russian business-oriented newspaper Kommersant published the full draft text of the bill. This caused the ruble to fall 2.2%.
Provisions in the draft bill include:
On 11 December 2019, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved four energy bills, including the â³Energy Security Cooperation with Allied Partners in Europe Act of 2019â³, which is meant to counter RussiaâÂÂs Nord Stream 2 pipeline, but the committee did not consider DASKA. On 18 December, the Senate panel approved DASKA, with the vote being 17âÂÂ5 (all five âÂÂnoâ votes came from Republicans); but there was no indication of when the full Senate might vote on the measure.
In February 2019, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to determining Putin's wealth with "It can hardly be taken seriously. Most probably itâÂÂs another Russophobic fuss."