[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 130 (Friday, August 7, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4532-S4533]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Russia Sanctions

  Mr. YOUNG. Mr. President, Russia has been condemned for years, but 
what it has not yet faced is a cost high enough to change its course.
  Senator Lindsey Graham understood that. The bill he left us, his 
final legislative legacy, does not stop at symbolic penalties or mere 
gestures. It is a strategy. It is a strategy to impose real costs on 
those sustaining Russia's war machine.
  Lindsey, who was a friend of mine, understood what it would take. Not 
another statement of outrage, but a serious plan, a plan to make 
continuing this war more costly than ending it.
  And it starts with an uncomfortable truth: We cannot choke off the 
war chest while Russia's largest customers keep replenishing it, even 
as those same governments insist they want the war to end.
  The United States, however, has leverage--enormous leverage. Access 
to our market carries enormous weight. Our allies know this, our 
adversaries know it, and the governments buying Russian energy 
certainly know it.
  But we should remember that tariff threats of this magnitude do not 
stop at the doors of a Foreign Ministry. They have real-world 
consequences. They can reach factory floors, farms, small businesses, 
and family budgets here at home.
  That doesn't mean we shouldn't act. We should act. But if Americans 
might absorb some of these costs, they deserve a policy that is 
transparent, disciplined, and tied to well-defined objectives.
  That is why Congress has a responsibility--a responsibility to ensure 
that these authorities remain focused on their intended purpose, with 
clear standards governing when additional pressure is warranted and 
when demonstrated progress should be recognized.
  The bipartisan support for this legislation sends a clear and a very 
important message: The pressure authorized here is directed at the 
countries financing Russia's war and must remain tied to that mission--
full stop.
  The goal--and the result Congress should demand--is a race to the 
bottom among Russia's largest energy buyers, with each country 
competing to cut its purchases faster than the others.
  But a race only works when every participant knows the rules, when 
every participant understands the objective, and trusts that meaningful 
action will be recognized.
  If countries buy more Russian energy, if they conceal transactions, 
or if they help Moscow evade sanctions--well, the President has every 
right to increase pressure, and he will have my encouragement.
  At the same time, if countries cut those purchases, stop enabling 
Russia, and demonstrate the change with real evidence, our policy 
should respond accordingly--that is how leverage produces action 
instead of simply imposing costs.
  And as this legislation moves forward through the process, I look 
forward to working with Chairman Crapo and the administration to keep 
these tariff authorities focused on the threats Congress intends to 
confront--the very threats Lindsey Graham worked so hard to confront.
  This bill presents a simple proposition: Countries may finance 
Russia's war or they may enjoy the benefits of access to the U.S. 
market, but they shouldn't expect to do both without consequences.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Georgia.
  Mr. WARNOCK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed 
in

[[Page S4533]]

the Record this letter from U.S. Trade Representative Greer.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record as follows:

                            The United States Trade Representative
     Executive Office of the President,
                                       Washington, August 6, 2026.
     Hon. Raphael Warnock,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Warnock: Regarding our conversation on 
     Sec. 113, the legal basis to maintain, modify, or adjust the 
     rate of duty specified in subsection (a) exists only where a 
     country meets the description in subsection (c), including 
     countries identified in subsequent determinations made 
     pursuant to subsection (e). Absent this legal basis, such 
     duties cannot be maintained.
           Sincerely,
                                     Ambassador Jamieson L. Greer,
                               United States Trade Representative.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Georgia.