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Katie Boyd Britt

Republican

“I want this sanctions bill to pass. It took a long time to get it to the floor. I want to say good things about Lindsey Graham. He did a lot that I like. He used spending to send money back home. He opposed abortion. He wanted to change the internet. He wanted to pick judges. This was the most important bill he worked on. He wanted peace through strength. We should support this bill now. Russia is weak. The bill gives the President ways to stop Russia. I want the bill to pass with support from both parties. Lindsey Graham talked about how we make important decisions. Our choices send young people to fight. People didn't expect Hitler to be so bad. He thought we're making the same mistake with Putin. We should remember Lindsey Graham by passing this bill. We should send it to the President now.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. President, 2 weeks ago, I stood alongside so many of my Senate colleagues from both sides of the aisle, in a press conference, to announce the Russia sanctions legislation. It was just 3 days before that that this legislation and this cause lost its champion, Senator Lindsey Graham. Today, many of us attended his service at the National Cathedral, and in typical Lindsey fashion, he somehow orchestrated a vote on Ukraine's future--on peace through strength--on that very same day. While this sanctions bill quickly amassed bipartisan support across the Senate, it took more than a year of tireless work by one man and a few friends--Senator Dick Blumenthal, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, and Senator Roger Wicker--to finally get this to the floor. Even though Lindsey is not physically with us today, his presence can certainly be felt in this Chamber. During his 33 years of public service, Lindsey achieved a great deal. He used his role on the Senate Appropriations Committee to make sure that South Carolina's hard-earned taxpayer dollars went back home. He was a fierce and outspoken advocate for the most vulnerable among us--the unborn. He led the fight to repeal section 230 because he believed in protecting the next generation online. He believed in blind justice, in defending the Constitution, and in confirming judges to the bench who would uphold the law. And he was an incredible colleague, mentor, and friend. This list of accomplishments, while it doesn't even span all of the things he did, is impressive, but it is this legislation--this legislation we are voting on today--that he told me would be the most consequential piece of legislation that he ever led and got to the President's desk. Now, that is saying something. It is an honor to now help champion one of his highest priorities, and not just for Lindsey, but importantly for the doctrine which he so deeply and passionately believed; that is, peace through strength. Today, we have an opportunity to advance this legislation at a critical juncture in the war, where Russia is the weakest that it has been since the start of the war more than 4 years ago. This legislation will give the President the tools and the economic firepower that he needs to sanction individuals who fund Russian war and its machine, to stop countries from purchasing Russian oil and gas that is Putin's financial lifeline, and it will also hold the regime in Tehran accountable for fueling 47 years of terrorism around the globe. There is no reason this legislation should not advance with overwhelming bipartisan support, and I hope that that is what we see here today. Ukraine and the world need this war of aggression to end. As I reflected today on Lindsey's service and his life and so many memories that I have of him, one thing came to mind. When we were leaving Normandy after being there for the 80th anniversary of D-day, he said to me: I want you to remember how important the decisions we, as political leaders, make because if we fail to do our job, young men and women are sent into harm's way. He said: There is no doubt the ``greatest generation'' earned that title, and he said the decision that was in front of us right now--as he reflected on all of this--was that people miscalculated Hitler. He said many were doing the exact same thing to Putin, and he believed that that miscalculation would ultimately be an enormous mistake. So let's honor Lindsey's memory the best way we know how, by responding to Putin's war of aggression with a show of strength and vote today to hold the Kremlin accountable. It is time now to get the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 to the President's desk. I hope my colleagues will join me in doing just that this evening. I yield the floor.

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Sanctions (Executive Session)

Katie Boyd Britt