Bipartisan group of senators unveil Graham's Russia sanctions bill
A bipartisan group of senators on Tuesday unveiled the legislation brokered by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham that would punish Russian energy exports and the foreign partners who purchase it.
The legislation, championed by Graham, who died suddenly on Saturday, and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, is set to move toward what Senate aides previewed as a likely successful vote after the White House agreed to the bill's terms on Friday.
The bill, presented at a news conference Tuesday on Capitol Hill, had the personal sign-off from Graham, a Senate aide said. The bill text has not been changed since Graham's death, the aide said.
The bill sanctions Russian financial institutions and its largest state energy projects while targeting Russian partners in the oil and natural gas trade. The top five importers of Russian crude oil will be sanctioned under the bill at a tariff rate of up to 100%, and the top five importers of its natural gas will also be subject to sanctions.
There are key exemptions spelled out for purchasers of natural gas, which include U.S. allies like France and Japan, who are weaning off Russian imports.
China, which is the top importer of both Russian crude oil and natural gas, would face a 100% tariff under the terms of the bill text, though the tariffs cannot be "stacked," or doubled, to reach 200%.
The legislation, if passed and signed by President Donald Trump, would impose penalties on countries who trade with Russia on defense items, which would include Iran, a Senate aide told reporters.
Asked Tuesday if he supports the bill, Trump said, “I know that Lindsey wanted it very badly. I think they may be adding Iran to it. They're going to add Iran, which is a very big thing. If they did that, they may add Hezbollah."
Asked about Trump's assertion at the news conference, Blumenthal said, "With all due respect to the president, he has approved this bill, and we should move forward with this bill rather than opening it, in my view, to other potential targets. If there are other bills that he wants to propose. We'll consider them, but I think this bill has been negotiated over almost two years, painstakingly, sometimes painfully, at great length."
The bill had been stalled for more than a year, awaiting sign-off and adjustments from the White House.
One aide said conversations with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Ankara during the NATO summit helped secure an agreement with the White House. The aide said that the timing for additional pressure on Moscow comes at a time when "the momentum that Ukraine is demonstrating on the battlefield is pretty much understood and felt all around" in Washington.
Blumenthal said passage of the bill would be a "fitting tribute" to Graham.
"When Senator Graham and I last spoke, he was absolutely exultant, calling from Kyiv with news that that President Trump would support this bill to impose scorching tariffs and sanctions on purchasers of Russian oil and stop them from fueling Putin's war machine," Blumenthal said. "Now is the time to push Russia toward peace. Ukraine is gaining net territory and reaching deep into Russia with its drones and missiles. Sanctions provide a path toward peace."
Sen. Tom Cotton, among the bill's Republican supporters, said Congress should pass the bill "immediately."
"As Senator Graham knew well, raising the costs on Russia is the only solution. Our bill will further restrict their energy sales to strangle Putin's war machine and bring him to the negotiating table," Cotton said.
