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Congressional Daily Record
This section covers nominations, confirmations, or other executive branch business. It mentions members such as Jeanne Shaheen.
Official title: Sanctions (Executive Session)
Issued
July 28, 2026
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Download official Senate Record PDFReturn to issue contextMrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I come to the floor today in support of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act.
legislation to try and end the war in Ukraine. I applaud Senator Britt and Senator Wicker, and, of course, Senator Blumenthal who has worked for over a year to get to this point and thank Senator Darline Graham for her efforts to support this legislation.
We all know that he was a tireless advocate for Ukraine. He knew that Ukrainians stand on the frontlines of freedom. This legislation is designed to cut off Vladimir Putin's most important resource in his war against Ukraine: his money.
impose mandatory sanctions that target Russia's war machine; it clamps down on Russia's shadow fleet; it strengthens financial and export restrictions; and it
enforces targeted duties on top purchasers of Russian oil and gas.
Russia's war economy afloat; Sberbank, the country's largest lender; and Gazprombank, which has helped finance Russia's energy exports. It also sanctions Russia's energy sector and the executives who run it, the major state energy projects that generate billions for the Kremlin, and future arctic energy projects designed to keep that revenue flowing.
shadow fleet and any foreign vessel that is used by the Russian Government for sanctions evasion. It would impose tariffs on imports from the top five countries buying Russia crude oil or natural gas, and it would impose tariffs on imports from those top five countries facilitating Russia's oil sanctions evasion.
We know who topped that list in 2025; it was China. They topped both lists. They continue buying Russian oil, even as Russia kills civilians and kidnaps Ukrainian children.
allies, those who have worked hard to get off of Russia's natural gas purchases.
bill. They say that President Trump has used tariffs indiscriminately to target our closest allies.
Well, I agree. But 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. That is why this bill is narrowly targeted at the worst actors supporting Russia.
year on a congressional visit to Odessa. It was winter. Ours was the first official congressional delegation to visit Odessa. The Russians had destroyed every bridge going into the city, except the one that our convoy crossed over that the engineers—Ukrainian engineers—had managed to patch together.
targets civilian infrastructure to break the will of the Ukrainian people, and it attacks American businesses. It attacks the grain silos of ships that help feed the world.
And you can see what they are doing. This is a rescue worker at a Philip Morris factory in Kharkiv. They have attacked Coca-Cola, Cargill, Mondelez. Others have been deliberately hit. And when we met with businesspeople who were working for those American companies in Ukraine, they said they believed they were being deliberately targeted by Russia.
cost of continuing to do nothing. Pressure is the only language Vladimir Putin understands. It is the only thing he responds to, and that is why it is critical that we pass the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act today.
The Ukrainians are making great progress. They are striking deep inside of Russia. They are targeting defense factories and oil facilities that enable Putin's war. And now is the time for us to do everything possible to put pressure on Putin. President Zelenskyy supports this bill. Everything that reduces Russia's revenues reduce the ability for Russia to continue the war against Ukraine.
believe this is the only bill that Congress has before it that has a realistic path forward for imposing new sanctions on Russia. This is our best opportunity to support Ukraine, who are defending not just their country, but the rest of Europe from an increasingly aggressive Russia.
I yield the floor.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Mississippi.