“This bill contains a huge tax increase and gives Congress's power to tax to the president. The Constitution says only Congress has the power to set taxes. I have an amendment to remove this change and keep the power to tax in Congress.”

“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.”

“We must stand against Vladimir Putin and cut off his money because of his attacks on Ukrainian civilians. I want to keep this part of the bill to give President Trump the tools he needs to end the war.”

“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.”

“These senators were not here to vote, and the amendment did not pass.”

“The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn), the Senator from Wyoming (Ms. Lummis), and the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell). Mr. DURBIN: I announce that the Senator from Arizona (Mr. Kelly) is necessarily absent. The result was announced--yeas 32, nays 64, as follows: The amendment (No. 6715) was rejected.”

• Little substance
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  Speech in the House

  Signal 17 of 100

  Much of this statement went to praise, blame, greetings, routine procedure or general stories rather than reasons, requests or specific points.

  See full analysis →

“I want the Senate to pass this bill to sanction Russia. Russia is producing and selling more helium to fund its war in Ukraine. If this bill passes, the president should use it to sanction Russian helium.”

“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.”

“Three senators are absent. The Senate voted 86 to 11 to pass this bill.”

“The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn), the Senator from Wyoming (Ms. Lummis), and the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell). The result was announced--yeas 86, nays 11, as follows: (Mr. HAGERTY assumed the Chair.) The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Graham). On this vote, the yeas are 86, the nays are 11. The 60-vote threshold having been achieved, the bill is passed. The bill (H.R. 5334), as amended, was passed. (Applause).”

• Little substance
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  Speech in the House

  Signal 37 of 100

  Much of this statement went to praise, blame, greetings, routine procedure or general stories rather than reasons, requests or specific points.

  See full analysis →