Bill on new sanctions against Russia moves closer to House vote

The bill on a major expansion of sanctions against Russia, promoted by the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, has moved closer to a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives. The House Rules Committee approved a procedural measure necessary to bring the Senate version of the document to the floor of the full chamber.

The committee voted 7 to 3 in favor of the rule. It allows a vote on a proposal for the House to concur with the Senate amendments to H.R. 5334 - the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. This is not yet final approval of the bill by the House, but one of the last procedural steps before such a vote.

Under the approved procedure, one hour will be allotted for debate on the document. If the House agrees to the Senate version without changes, the bill can be sent to President Donald Trump for signature. The measure has already been placed on the House's weekly schedule.

The Senate passed the bill on August 7 with broad bipartisan support - 86 to 11. Lindsey Graham was one of the main authors and advocates of the sanctions initiative and worked on reconciling it with the White House until his death in July. The bill was subsequently named in his honor.

The document provides for primary and secondary sanctions against Russian officials, oligarchs, banks and financial institutions, as well as against the Russian "shadow fleet" and foreign entities that help evade restrictions.

One of the toughest provisions allows the U.S. president to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the largest buyers of Russian oil and natural gas, as well as countries that most facilitate the circumvention of oil sanctions. Among the economies potentially most vulnerable to these measures are major buyers of Russian energy, in particular China and India.

During the committee hearing, Democrats attempted to amend the most controversial provisions of the bill. In particular, proposals were made to remove the broad authority for secondary tariffs, limit the president's ability to waive sanctions, and explicitly identify countries that could be subject to new tariffs. These amendments did not receive sufficient support.

The tariff powers for Trump remain the main point of contention surrounding the bill in the House. Some Democrats support increased pressure on Russia, but worry that the legislation simultaneously gives the president overly broad authority to impose new import tariffs. Roll Call previously noted that this tension could complicate passage of the bill, despite significant support for sanctions against Moscow.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration supports maintaining the tariff mechanism. The White House has previously called these powers an important part of the agreed sanctions package, intended to increase economic pressure on Russia and its trading partners.

Sources: U.S. House Rules Committee, U.S. Senate, Roll Call