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Senate

Legislative Session

2026-08-07 Issue 130 Showing 1–9 of 9

Official Congressional Record ↗

Rand Paul

Republican

“This bill lets the President tax more. Congress should not give away that power. The constitution says power should be split between branches. My amendment takes out the part that gives the President more power to tax. If it passes I hope it shows Congress has a spine and still supports splitting power.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. President, the bill before us contains the largest tax increase ever passed by a Republican Congress. Worse yet, the bill transfers the taxing authority from the legislature to the executive branch, an unconstitutional delegation of power. The Constitution clearly states that ``Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, duties . . . and Excises.'' Madison believed the Republic would survive only if the Constitution divided the power and pitted the executive ambition against legislative ambition. Madison would be horrified by the clamor of so many in Congress to cede the taxing authority. My amendment strips the transfer of the taxing authority from the bill. My amendment--if it passes--will demonstrate that Congress still has a spine, still has ambition, and still supports the separation and limitation of power.

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Katie Boyd Britt

Republican

“I want this bill to pass. It gives the President power to tax more. We should give the President that power. My friend says it is the heart of the bill. It will hurt Putin. I want to send a message to Putin. We will spend more money to fight him.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. President, the Senate has a spine. That is exactly what we are doing here today is standing with a steel spine. We are standing against Putin's aggression. You saw, this week, him actually attack innocent Ukrainians. Ballistic drones go, hit breweries. They hit innocent civilians working in warehouses. This is enough. Today, we stand together to say: We are going to cut off the flow of money to Putin. Senator Lindsey Graham said that this part, the part that our colleague from Kentucky wants to rip out, was actually the heart of this bill; that this was the way to hit Putin where it hurt most. Section 113 was carefully negotiated, and these authorities expire and are not permanent. Today, we send a message to Vladimir Putin, and we give President Trump the tools he needs to end this war.

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Richard Blumenthal

Democrat

“I want this bill to pass. It gives the President power to tax more. Some people worked hard on it. It will hurt some countries that do business with Russia. It will not hurt many others. You should vote no on the change. If we change it, the bill might not pass.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. President, I appreciate my colleague from Alabama's strong support of this bill. She has been instrumental in our reaching this point, and I thank her and Senator Graham of South Carolina. To state it really bluntly, Mr. President, this amendment kills the bill. It decimates the purpose of the bill, which has been the result of painstaking--sometimes painful--negotiations over months with the White House, with our colleagues here, with the U.S. Trade Representative, whom I also thank for his cooperation and assistance. It would eliminate tariff provisions that have been narrowly constrained to the five largest purchasers of Russian oil and gas. It is not a broad, blunderbuss provision. It is narrowly targeted. And no secret, the two largest purchasers? Ninety percent, China and Russia. So let's be real here. This narrowly targeted tariff provision is essential to the bill. The choice isn't between this bill with tariffs and a bill without tariffs. The choice is between this bill or no bill. I oppose this amendment and urge my colleagues to vote no.

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John Barrasso

Republican

“I want to announce that some Senators are absent. The result of the vote is 32 yes, 64 no. The amendment did not pass.”

Jeanne Shaheen

Democrat

“I want to stop Russia from selling oil. That will give them less money. They will have a harder time paying for war. I want us to pass this bill. I say it will help Ukraine.”

John Cornyn

Republican

“I support this bill. It will sanction Russia. Russia is making money from helium. They use that money for war. Industries need helium. We should not buy Russian helium.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. President, Mr. Fetterman and I appreciate the work being done to advance the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, H.R.5334, in the Senate. This bill will honor Senator Graham's legacy, help dismantle Putin's war machine, and strengthen the U.S. national security. This legislation aims to shut down various revenue streams Russia uses to continue its unprovoked war against Ukraine, and we must consider how it can be most effectively implemented. Helium is a byproduct of natural gas and has largely been produced in the United States, Qatar, and Algeria. However, Russia has been catching up. Russia has doubled its helium production since the beginning of the war and is now the third largest producer of helium in the world. Despite the limited need for helium in Russia, reports indicate that Russia is still increasing its helium production at multiple plants. This increase in production contributes to Russia's long-term strategy to export helium, which will help to continue financing Russian aggression in Ukraine. Helium is a vital industrial gas used in superconducting magnets, advanced lasers for medical technology, rocket fuel and missile guidance systems, and manufacturing for critical parts of our information infrastructure such as fiber optics and semiconductors. We must ensure these critical industries do not rely on Russian helium and unwittingly provide financial lifelines to Putin. Section 102(b)(3) of the legislation subjects to potential sanctions ``any foreign vessel the President determines, based on credible information, is used by the Government of the Russian Federation or Russian persons to move crude oil, uranium, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, petroleum, petroleum products, petrochemical products, coal, coal products, arms or other goods for the purposes of circumventing sanctions imposed by the United States or other countries.'' Section 112(a) of the legislation further provides for ``duty for all goods, including oil, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, petroleum, petroleum products, petrochemical products, coal, and coal products imported into the United States from the Russian Federation.'' The ``other goods'' language in section 102(b) and the ``all goods'' language in section 112(a) is sufficiently broad that helium and other natural gas byproducts should qualify as a ``good'' under this legislation. Should this bill be enacted into law, the President should consider using authorities under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, H.R.5334, to weaken Russia's production of natural gas byproducts, including helium.

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Richard Blumenthal

Democrat

“I want this bill to pass. It will sanction Russia. Russia uses money from oil and gas to pay for war. We should not buy Russian oil and gas. This bill will help Ukraine.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. President, I want to thank my colleagues in advance for their overwhelming bipartisan support for this bill that shows we can still work together for the right causes to accomplish the right results. I want to particularly thank Senator Lindsey Graham and his courageous, effective sister Darline for their immensely important, even historic contribution to this bill. Today, we say to Vladimir Putin: You will not conquer Ukraine. We stand with the brave, free people of Ukraine. We need to provide them military assistance. We can't do that today, but we are providing the economic tools that are necessary to stop the major purchases of Russian oil and gas from fueling Putin's war machine. President Zelenskyy has said to us from the beginning: Give us the tools; we will do the job. Today, we give him an essential tool. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I yield the floor.

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Darline Graham

Republican

“I want this bill to pass. It will sanction Russia. Russia uses money from oil and gas to pay for war. We should not buy Russian oil and gas. This bill will help Ukraine. My brother worked hard for this. I am proud to continue his work.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. President, I rise today, and I am honored to reiterate my full support for the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. My late brother Lindsey was a foreign policy and national security expert. He was also a peacemaker who was determined to bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine. He worked tirelessly to achieve that goal. Lindsey traveled to Ukraine on 10 separate occasions seeking an end to this war. Despite the Ukrainian people's unwavering resolve to fight back, Russia has refused to stop. On his last trip to Ukraine, Lindsey continued his work to achieve peace. He understood that providing President Trump the tools contained in this legislation would help push Russia to the negotiating table. That had been his goal since day one. We are all aware of the tremendous bloodshed. For more than 4 years, Putin has wreaked havoc on the lives of everyday people, kidnapping tens of thousands of Ukrainian children and committing unspeakable acts. The war against Ukraine is primarily funded by the revenue Russia rakes in from energy sales. Without these profits, the ability to fund the war would be crippled. This legislation hits Putin where it hurts. It contains provisions that specifically target those who are supporting Russia's war in Ukraine. This bill forces those primary countries keeping Russia's economy afloat to make a simple yet critical choice--a choice between doing business with America or buying cheap Russian energy. This legislation tells Russia's customers that the United States of America will not sit by while they fund Putin's assault. The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 would end Russia's network of aggression and criminal leadership. History tells us that when an ambitious dictator goes after one nation, he typically doesn't stop there. My brother knew this well, and I am honored to continue his work of advancing this historic legislation. I would especially like to thank President Trump; my colleagues Senator Blumenthal, Senator Britt, Senator Shaheen, and Senator Wicker for their leadership in moving this forward with me. I would also like to thank all the staff who have worked so very hard. In closing, over the past 2\1/2\ centuries, America has stood as a beacon of hope to the free world. Just as the backers of this war will soon be forced to make a choice, each Member of this body must also make a choice: whether we have the courage to stand up to evil or whether we will continue on with the status quo. It is time for a show of strength. It is time for action. It is time for the Senate to pass the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. I yield the floor. (Applause.)

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John Barrasso

Republican

“I announce the vote results. The bill passed with 86 yeas and 11 nays. The Senators from Tennessee, Wyoming, and Kentucky were absent.”

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