{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://mccaul.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/mccaul-house-floor-evil-march-history-calling-now-time-act", "McCaul on House Floor: \"Evil Is on the March. History Is Calling. Now Is the Time to Act.\"", "2026-09-16", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "TX", "Michael T. McCaul", "M001157", "mccaul.house.gov", "mccaul", "https://mccaul.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Emeritus Michael McCaul (R-Texas) delivered opening remarks on the House floor in support of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which he introduced in the House with Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and a bipartisan group of their colleagues.\n\nImage\n\nClick to watch\n\nRemarks as delivered:\n\nThis is a critical time in history \u2014 a time my friend Senator Lindsey Graham described as a \u201cmagic moment,\" a moment that we cannot afford to waste.\n\nAmerica\u2019s adversaries \u2014 Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea \u2014 are working together to threaten the free world. And make no mistake: they are watching what we do here and now today, because they know they will suffer if this bill is passed.\n\nSenator Lindsey Graham understood these global threats well. That\u2019s why we spent more than a year working on this bill. He brought Republicans and Democrats together and secured the White House\u2019s support. Today, we have a chance to finish his work \u2014 to help end this war in Europe and to project peace through strength around the globe.\n\nI\u2019m proud to champion the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, and I want to thank Mr. Hoyer and our colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their strong support.\n\nFor me, this is also personal. Lindsey Graham was my friend and my mentor. We shared a fundamental belief: \u201cAmerica is strongest at home when it projects strength abroad.\u201d\n\nThis legislation does exactly that.\n\nIt targets the money that fuels Russia\u2019s war machine. It sanctions Russian officials and oligarchs, banks and financial institutions, and the shadow fleet that helps [keep] cheap Russian energy moving.\n\nAnd through precisely-targeted tariffs, it also punishes countries providing financial support for the deadliest war in Europe since WWII.\n\nWhy? Because, as we\u2019ve heard from President Zelensky\u2019s team, you can evade sanctions \u2014 which the Russians have done for years \u2014 but you cannot evade tariffs.\n\nIn fact, President Zelenksy\u2019s sanctions expert, whom I personally met with in Kyiv, told me: \u201cTariffs are a powerful way to amplify the impact of sanctions.\u201d\n\nThat\u2019s why they are the teeth of this bill. Pursuant to the bill\u2019s rule of construction, only the top five importers of Russian oil will be tariffed, and if a country falls off of the top five list, the tariffs are removed. It incentivizes a race to the bottom.\n\nThese countries have a choice to make about whether they will continue to sustain Putin\u2019s aggression. Putin believes he can keep financing this war indefinitely. We need to change that calculation \u2014 and bleed his regime economically dry.\n\nBecause the Kremlin has murdered thousands of civilians in cold blood. They\u2019ve bombed sacred churches and schools. They\u2019ve kidnapped countless children, tortured and indoctrinated them, and sent them to fight on the frontlines against their own country.\n\nWe have a moral responsibility to bring an end to this suffering. But this is also a matter of national security.\n\nIf Putin is rewarded for invading a sovereign nation \u2014 if he succeeds \u2014 he has already told us he will go further. His army will move into Moldova, Georgia, and the Baltic States. Just like Putin wants to bring back the power of the Soviet Union, President Xi wants to restore imperial China. These dictators must be deterred \u2014 before it\u2019s too late.\n\nThis legislation also extends sanctions on Iran, which are set to expire at the end of this year. Again, this is all tied together. In 2024, I spoke about the Iranian drones being used by Russia to kill Ukrainians. In return, Russia is reportedly providing targeting information to the IRGC.\n\nWe cannot look at one part of this threat and ignore the others. This bill leverages our economic strength to make it harder for these regimes to finance aggression.\n\nLindsey Graham once said that this bill would be his greatest achievement. I can think of no better way, Mr. Speaker, to honor his life and legacy than by passing these tough sanctions, which will force Mr. Putin to the negotiating table.\n\nEvil is on the march. History is calling. And now is the time to act", 1, "2026-09-17T09:52:05Z", "2026-09-17T09:53:00Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://mccaul.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/mccaul-house-floor-evil-march-history-calling-now-time-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8356529287993908, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}