{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.britt.senate.gov/news/press-releases/u-s-senators-katie-britt-darline-graham-richard-blumenthal-jeanne-shaheen-roger-wicker-lead-bipartisan-group-of-62-senators-in-announcing-russia-sanctions-legislation-in-honor-of-u-s-senator-lin/", "U.S. Senators Katie Britt, Darline Graham, Richard Blumenthal, Jeanne Shaheen, Roger Wicker Lead Bipartisan Group of 62 Senators in Announcing Russia Sanctions Legislation in Honor of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham", "2026-07-16", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "Senate", "AL", "Katie Boyd Britt", "B001319", "www.britt.senate.gov", "britt", "https://www.britt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "\u2018[Lindsey] said that this would be the most consequential piece of legislation that he ever had an opportunity to get behind and get to the President\u2019s desk\u2026\u2019\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senators Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Darline Graham (R-S.C.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), and 57 of their bipartisan Senate colleagues today honored the late Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) by introducing legislation for which he secured White House support\u2014the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026\u2014to hold major purchasers of Russian oil and gas accountable for supporting Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine. This legislation has rapidly gained support and now has a group of 62 Senators who are committed to its passage.\n\nSenator Britt participates in a press conference on Tuesday, July 14, to honor Senator Lindsey Graham and discuss details of this legislation.\n\nSenator Lindsey Graham met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss the effort last week at the 2026 NATO Summit and secured an agreement with the White House on Friday. Senators Graham and Blumenthal first introduced legislation in April 2025 to bring primary and secondary sanctions against Russia and actors supporting Russia\u2019s aggression in Ukraine and have spent the last year building support for the effort in Congress and the Administration.\n\nSenator Britt said, \u201cOne of the many pillars of Senator Graham\u2019s exemplary career of public service was his dedication to putting America\u2019s national security first and promoting liberty around the world. It is an honor to help champion one of his highest priorities: imposing crushing sanctions to cripple Russia\u2019s war machine and hold those fueling it accountable. Putin\u2019s war against Ukraine has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, and it must end. Lindsey believed that getting this legislation passed and signed into law would be the most consequential thing he achieved in his career. I am sincerely grateful to Senators Darline Graham, Blumenthal, Shaheen, and Wicker for their continued leadership on this issue and, very importantly, for the support of President Trump and the White House\u2014these sanctions will provide President Trump with a critical tool to hold Russia accountable and secure a lasting peace.\u201d\n\n\u201cUntil the very day he passed, Lindsey remained focused on passing the Russia sanctions bill. Passing this legislation would honor my brother\u2019s steadfast commitment to our national security and it would provide President Trump with additional leverage to bring this war to an end. I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this legislation and send it to President Trump\u2019s desk,\u201d said Senator Darline Graham.\n\n\u201cUkraine is at a critical crossroads \u2014 and we must meet this pivotal moment with a powerful sanctions bill. As Ukraine turns the tide on the battlefield, our Russia sanctions bill would be historically impactful in stopping Russia\u2019s murderous slaughter,\u201d said Senator Blumenthal. \u201cWhen 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\u2019s war machine. 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. Our bill is the product of lengthy, detailed, difficult bipartisan work, and now has broad bipartisan support. Passing this legislation right now would be a fitting tribute to Senator Graham\u2019s fierce support for Ukraine\u2019s freedom.\u201d\n\n\u201cLindsey was a firm believer that the United States is a force for good around the world, and he worked tirelessly on this important effort,\u201d said Senate Majority Leader John Thune. \u201cI\u2019m proud to support this legislation that not only honors our friend and colleague, but will also promote peace by cutting off the funding fueling Russia\u2019s war machine. I can\u2019t think of a better way to honor his legacy.\u201d\n\n\u201cRussia is losing ground, it is suffering tens of thousands of casualties each month and Ukraine continues to bring the consequences of the war to the Kremlin\u2019s doorstep through its deep strike campaign. Putin is in an incredibly precarious position both at home and on the battlefield. This legislation would level tough new sanctions on Russia and choke off key export markets for the energy it sells to fund its war machine. We must seize on the opportunity before us to finally exert economic pressure on the Kremlin and bring this war to a close,\u201d said Senator Shaheen.\n\n\u201cWe should enact this bipartisan measure to exert maximum economic pressure on Putin\u2019s war machine and help bring this unjust war to an end,\u201d said Senator Wicker.\n\n\u201cSouth Carolina lost a statesman, and I lost a friend. Lindsey Graham spent his time in the Senate reminding us that peace is protected by strength, and that America has a responsibility to stand up to dictators who threaten our allies, our interests, and the values we hold dear,\u201d said Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott. \u201cThis legislation is a fitting way to honor Lindsey\u2019s legacy: tough, principled, and focused on keeping America safe. Lindsey would be proud to see Republicans and Democrats come together in support of his and the President\u2019s goal to end Moscow\u2019s senseless war in Ukraine.\u201d\n\nJoining Senators Britt, Graham, Blumenthal, Shaheen, and Wicker in introducing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026 are Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.Dak.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Chair of the Senate Banking Committee Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), James Lankford (R-Okla.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Jon Husted (R-Ohio), Alan Armstrong (R-Okla.), John Hoeven (R-N.Dak.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), Mike Rounds (R-S.Dak.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.Dak.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Angus King (I-Maine.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), John Curtis (R-Utah), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Adam Schiff (D-Cali.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).\n\nAt a press conference announcing the legislation, Senator Britt said, \u201cI want to start by thanking Senators Blumenthal, Shaheen, Wicker, and Senator (Lindsey) Graham. The four of you have kept this moving. You\u2019ve kept it going. You\u2019ve gotten us to this point. But as we know, nobody has done more than Lindsey Graham. This is a moment \u2026 he\u2019d love to see. (He) couldn\u2019t believe we were all on one stage \u2026 He worked on this tirelessly, relentlessly \u2026 He knew it was the right thing to do, and he knew it was what we needed to do. I talked to him after he had spoken with President Trump, and he was overjoyed at talking and landing the plane in a place that we could all get behind, that would hold Putin accountable, and would allow us to move this through the Senate.\n\n\u201cSenator Graham was larger than life in a number of ways. He was committed to putting America\u2019s national security first. He was committed to us doing what we needed to do to keep people safe and to make sure we stood firmly on our values. Today, as we stand here, we remember him. We thank him for what he did to get us here. We thank all of his team for all that you did. We know Lindsey is looking down on this moment with a big smile. He said that this would be the most consequential piece of legislation that he ever had an opportunity to get behind and get to the President\u2019s desk. Let\u2019s not forget that, because he did a lot of big things, but this one, he believed would have the largest impact and would make the biggest difference. So, let\u2019s do the right thing. Let\u2019s hold Putin accountable and let\u2019s honor Lindsey Graham as we move this forward.\u201d\n\nThe Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026 would impose primary and secondary sanctions against Russia and actors supporting Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine. The sanctions target Russian officials, oligarchs, their family members, foreign persons, and Russian banks and financial institutions, as well as the Russian Shadow Fleet.\n\nThe legislation also directs the President to impose up to 100 percent tariffs on imported goods from countries that buy the majority of Russian oil, gas, and enable Russian sanctions evasion. The new text limits these tariffs to the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas or are among the top five facilitators of Russian oil sanctions evasion. The bill exempts countries whose Russian natural gas imports account for less than 15 percent of Russia\u2019s total natural gas exports and that are taking significant steps to reduce those imports.\n\nYou can read the full text of the bill here and a one-pager on the bill here. The Senator\u2019s full remarks can be found here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-07-17T07:15:58Z", "2026-07-17T07:17:05Z"]], "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://www.britt.senate.gov/news/press-releases/u-s-senators-katie-britt-darline-graham-richard-blumenthal-jeanne-shaheen-roger-wicker-lead-bipartisan-group-of-62-senators-in-announcing-russia-sanctions-legislation-in-honor-of-u-s-senator-lin/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9367570746690035, "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"}