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The U.S. House passed a Russia sanctions bill introduced over a year ago by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Wednesday evening, sending it to President Donald Trump's desk. The bill, titled the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, would target Russia's economy, intending to penalize the country over its continued full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The legislation would allow Trump to impose tariffs up to 100% on countries including China and India, that are within the top five purchasers of Russian crude oil or gas. Money from oil sales is critical to funding Russia's war effort. It would also put sanctions on Russian leaders, officials and financial institutions and expand sanctions on Iran. The measure passed with bipartisan support in a 262-159 vote. Last month, Senators voted overwhelmingly in favor of the bill and passed it by a vote of 86-11 with strong bipartisan support. However, opponents of the bill say it gives Trump too much tariff authority. Reps. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., Don Beyer, D-Va., and Richard Neal, D-Ma., said in a joint statement last week that while House Democrats staunchly support Ukraine, this bill would "do more harm than good." "This bill would dramatically expand presidential tariff authorities while failing to mandate sanctions on Russia, both of which are unacceptable. These flaws would raise Americans' prices while undermining support for Ukraine in the long term," the lawmakers said. On the House floor Wednesday, Meeks said, "we cannot grant the president more tariff power that we know he will abuse." Other Members of Congress urged their peers to vote in support of the measure. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who had worked on it with Graham, said the bill will force Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table. "When we look back at this moment in time, I want to be able to say that we used all the tools available to end this war, that we understood the threat, that we had the courage to do what was right, to stand up, to cripple the Russian war machine and turn the tide toward peace," McCaul said on the House floor Wednesday. Now that the bill has cleared both chambers of Congress, Trump intends to sign it into law, a White House official confirmed.
document fetched 2026-09-17 02:49 · canonical https://cnbc.com/2026/09/16/russia-sanctions-bill-lindsey-graham-congress.html