WASHINGTON — Bipartisan senators overwhelmingly advanced legislation Tuesday to enact sweeping sanctions on Russia on the same day lawmakers mourned the loss of the bill’s namesake, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham.
In a tribute to the South Carolina Republican, the Senate took the first procedural step toward passing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act to hold major purchasers of Russian oil accountable. The vote was 86-12.
U.S. Sens. Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., voted in favor of advancing the bill after paying their respects for their late colleague earlier in the day.
“It is an honor to now help champion one of his highest priorities, and not just for Lindsey, but importantly for the doctrine in which he so deeply and passionately believed, and that is peace through strength,” Britt, a sponsor of the bill, said on the Senate floor.
“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 four years ago.”
The vote took place Tuesday night after Graham’s funeral services in Washington and an all-senator meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Capitol to discuss the legislation.
“We showed the world that we stand for strength, we stand for peace, and we stand with Ukraine,” Britt said during a press conference after meeting with Zelenskyy.
Britt and a bipartisan group, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Darline Graham, R-S.C., Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Jim Risch, R-Idaho, unveiled the updated sanctions bill Tuesday after negotiators narrowed parts of the bill to garner more support.
One of the key Democratic sponsors of the bill, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, appealed to her hesitant Democratic colleagues who have been concerned that the measure would give Trump more tariff authority.
“In the case of this bill, Congress is explicitly directing these tariffs for one unambiguous purpose-to increase the pressure on Vladimir Putin and end his unprovoked war against Ukraine,” Shaheen said in a floor speech. “That’s why this bill is narrowly targeted at the worst actors supporting Russia.”
The tariffs in the bill are limited to the top five countries that import Russian crude oil or gas to ensure America’s allies that buy small amounts of oil from Russia are not targeted.
Graham’s bill now extends sanctions on Iran after Trump urged lawmakers to include the Middle Eastern nation as the war in Iran enters its sixth month.
“It will also hold the regime in Tehran accountable for fueling 47 years of terrorism around the globe,” Britt said.
Graham spent his final hours in Ukraine pushing to end the war and announced Trump’s support of his sanctions bill just before he died earlier this month. Since then, bipartisan senators have worked to get the bill passed to honor the senator’s key mission of ending the war in Ukraine.
Senators hope the large bipartisan showing for the bill during Tuesday’s vote will help speed up its final passage in the chamber.
Britt urged the House to return from its recess to take up the bill once it passes the Senate. The House is set to be out of Washington until Aug. 31.