U.S. senators called for the passage of Graham's bill on sanctions against Russia without amendments
During a joint press conference on July 14, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators called on Congress to pass the bill imposing new sanctions against Russia as soon as possible, without any additional amendments. The lawmakers emphasized that the bill has already been agreed upon with the White House and has sufficient support to be put to a vote.
According to them, the bill is the result of nearly two years of work by the late Senator Lindsey Graham and contains complex mechanisms for applying sanctions pressure, so it should not be amended with new provisions. This was their response to a statement by U.S. President Donald Trump, who had previously suggested the possibility of including sanctions related to Iran or the Hezbollah group in the bill.
The bill’s co-author, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, noted that Trump supports the bill, but it should be passed in its current form. According to him, if the administration intends to propose separate sanctions against Iran or Hezbollah, Congress could consider those initiatives separately.
House Speaker Mike Johnson also expressed support for the bill, stating that Republicans have long advocated for increasing sanctions pressure on Russia.
The bill provides for new sanctions against Russia, companies affiliated with it, oligarchs, and intermediaries, as well as secondary sanctions and tariffs targeting the largest importers of Russian energy resources. During consultations with the White House, the authors narrowed the bill’s scope: while the initial version could have affected more than 60 countries, the restrictions will now apply only to the largest buyers of Russian oil and natural gas.
A separate section of the bill is dedicated to combating Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet,” which Moscow uses to circumvent international sanctions and export oil.
Senators expressed confidence that the bill will be passed before the start of Congress’s August recess. According to them, Senate Majority Leader John Thune is ready to bring the bill to a vote once the necessary number of votes has been confirmed, and the bill’s authors are convinced that such support already exists.
This was reported by Suspilne.
As a reminder, the bill on sweeping sanctions against Russia gained new momentum following the death of Senator Lindsey Graham. The White House has stated its readiness to support the bill, which calls for increased economic pressure on Moscow.
On the evening of July 11, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and ally of Donald Trump died in the U.S. at the age of 72. According to the politician’s office, he passed away following a sudden and brief illness.
