[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 130 (Friday, August 7, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4538-S4540]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
______
SUPPORTING EARLY-CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS' DEDUCTIONS ACT
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will
resume legislative session and resume consideration of H.R. 5334, which
the clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (H.R. 5334) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 to allow early childhood educators to take the educator
expense deduction, and for other purposes.
Amendment No. 6711
(Purpose: To impose sanctions and other measures with respect to the
Russian Federation.)
Ms. GRAHAM. I call up amendment No. 6711 and ask that it be reported
by number.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment by number.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from South Carolina [Ms. Graham], for herself
and Mr. BLUMENTHAL, proposes an amendment numbered 6711.
(The amendment is printed in the Record of July 29, 2026, under
``Text of Amendments.'')
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.
Amendment No. 6715 to Amendment No. 6711
(Purpose: To strike the provision relating to duties on countries
that purchase Russian-origin crude oil or natural gas or facilitate
sanctions evasion.)
Mr. PAUL. I call up amendment No. 6715 and ask that it be reported by
number.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Kentucky [Mr. Paul], for himself and
others, proposes an amendment numbered 6715 to amendment No.
6711.
(The amendment is printed in the Record of July 29, 2026, under
``Text of Amendments.'')
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.
Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, the bill before us contains the largest tax
increase ever passed by a Republican Congress. Worse yet, the bill
transfers the taxing authority from the legislature to the executive
branch, an unconstitutional delegation of power.
The Constitution clearly states that ``Congress shall have Power To
lay and collect Taxes, duties . . . and Excises.''
Madison believed the Republic would survive only if the Constitution
divided the power and pitted the executive ambition against legislative
ambition. Madison would be horrified by the clamor of so many in
Congress to cede the taxing authority.
My amendment strips the transfer of the taxing authority from the
bill. My amendment--if it passes--will demonstrate that Congress still
has a spine, still has ambition, and still supports the separation and
limitation of power.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time in opposition?
The Senator from Alabama.
Mrs. BRITT. Mr. President, I ask for 2 minutes to be equally divided
between myself and the Senator from Connecticut.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mrs. BRITT. Mr. President, the Senate has a spine. That is exactly
what we are doing here today is standing with a steel spine. We are
standing against Putin's aggression.
You saw, this week, him actually attack innocent Ukrainians.
Ballistic drones go, hit breweries. They hit innocent civilians working
in warehouses. This is enough. Today, we stand together to say: We are
going to cut off the flow of money to Putin.
Senator Lindsey Graham said that this part, the part that our
colleague from Kentucky wants to rip out, was actually the heart of
this bill; that this was the way to hit Putin where it hurt most.
Section 113 was carefully negotiated, and these authorities expire
and are not permanent.
Today, we send a message to Vladimir Putin, and we give President
Trump the tools he needs to end this war.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I appreciate my colleague from
Alabama's strong support of this bill. She has been instrumental in our
reaching this point, and I thank her and Senator Graham of South
Carolina.
To state it really bluntly, Mr. President, this amendment kills the
bill. It decimates the purpose of the bill, which has been the result
of painstaking--sometimes painful--negotiations over months with the
White House, with our colleagues here, with the U.S. Trade
Representative, whom I also thank for his cooperation and assistance.
It would eliminate tariff provisions that have been narrowly
constrained to the five largest purchasers of Russian oil and gas. It
is not a broad, blunderbuss provision. It is narrowly targeted. And no
secret, the two largest purchasers? Ninety percent, China and Russia.
So let's be real here. This narrowly targeted tariff provision is
essential to the bill. The choice isn't between this bill with tariffs
and a bill without tariffs. The choice is between this bill or no bill.
I oppose this amendment and urge my colleagues to vote no.
Vote on Amendment No. 6715
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question now occurs on adoption of the
amendment.
Mr. BARRASSO. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the
Senator from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn), the Senator from Wyoming (Ms.
Lummis), and the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell).
Mr. DURBIN: I announce that the Senator from Arizona (Mr. Kelly) is
necessarily absent.
The result was announced--yeas 32, nays 64, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 223 Leg.]
YEAS--32
Alsobrooks
Bennet
Blunt Rochester
Booker
Cantwell
Cassidy
Gallego
Hassan
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Kaine
Kim
Klobuchar
Lujan
Markey
Murray
Ossoff
Padilla
Paul
Peters
Reed
Sanders
Schiff
Schumer
Slotkin
Smith
[[Page S4539]]
Van Hollen
Warner
Warnock
Warren
Welch
Wyden
NAYS--64
Armstrong
Baldwin
Banks
Barrasso
Blumenthal
Boozman
Britt
Budd
Capito
Collins
Coons
Cornyn
Cortez Masto
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Curtis
Daines
Duckworth
Durbin
Ernst
Fetterman
Fischer
Gillibrand
Graham
Grassley
Hagerty
Hawley
Heinrich
Hoeven
Husted
Hyde-Smith
Johnson
Justice
Kennedy
King
Lankford
Lee
Marshall
McCormick
Merkley
Moody
Moran
Moreno
Murkowski
Murphy
Ricketts
Risch
Rosen
Rounds
Schatz
Schmitt
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Shaheen
Sheehy
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Tuberville
Whitehouse
Wicker
Young
NOT VOTING--4
Blackburn
Kelly
Lummis
McConnell
The amendment (No. 6715) was rejected.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Graham-
Blumenthal amendment No. 6711 is agreed to.
The amendment (No. 6711) was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will read the title of the bill for
the third time.
The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read a
third time.
The bill was read the third time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senators
Shaheen, Blumenthal, and Schumer be recognized for up to 1 minute each.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
H.R. 5334
Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, colleagues, every day that Russia earns
billions from energy exports, it has more resources to finance this
war. Every day that Putin has those resources, he gains more time.
Every day that Putin gains more time, more Ukrainians are killed.
This legislation is what President Zelenskyy asked us to do. This is
what Senator Graham worked so hard to achieve. I hope we can give it an
overwhelming vote.
I yield the floor.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, Mr. Fetterman and I appreciate the work
being done to advance the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran
Act of 2026, H.R.5334, in the Senate. This bill will honor Senator
Graham's legacy, help dismantle Putin's war machine, and strengthen the
U.S. national security.
This legislation aims to shut down various revenue streams Russia
uses to continue its unprovoked war against Ukraine, and we must
consider how it can be most effectively implemented. Helium is a
byproduct of natural gas and has largely been produced in the United
States, Qatar, and Algeria. However, Russia has been catching up.
Russia has doubled its helium production since the beginning of the war
and is now the third largest producer of helium in the world. Despite
the limited need for helium in Russia, reports indicate that Russia is
still increasing its helium production at multiple plants. This
increase in production contributes to Russia's long-term strategy to
export helium, which will help to continue financing Russian aggression
in Ukraine.
Helium is a vital industrial gas used in superconducting magnets,
advanced lasers for medical technology, rocket fuel and missile
guidance systems, and manufacturing for critical parts of our
information infrastructure such as fiber optics and semiconductors. We
must ensure these critical industries do not rely on Russian helium and
unwittingly provide financial lifelines to Putin.
Section 102(b)(3) of the legislation subjects to potential sanctions
``any foreign vessel the President determines, based on credible
information, is used by the Government of the Russian Federation or
Russian persons to move crude oil, uranium, natural gas, liquefied
natural gas, petroleum, petroleum products, petrochemical products,
coal, coal products, arms or other goods for the purposes of
circumventing sanctions imposed by the United States or other
countries.''
Section 112(a) of the legislation further provides for ``duty for all
goods, including oil, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, petroleum,
petroleum products, petrochemical products, coal, and coal products
imported into the United States from the Russian Federation.''
The ``other goods'' language in section 102(b) and the ``all goods''
language in section 112(a) is sufficiently broad that helium and other
natural gas byproducts should qualify as a ``good'' under this
legislation. Should this bill be enacted into law, the President should
consider using authorities under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning
Russia and Iran Act of 2026, H.R.5334, to weaken Russia's production of
natural gas byproducts, including helium.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I want to thank my colleagues in
advance for their overwhelming bipartisan support for this bill that
shows we can still work together for the right causes to accomplish the
right results.
I want to particularly thank Senator Lindsey Graham and his
courageous, effective sister Darline for their immensely important,
even historic contribution to this bill.
Today, we say to Vladimir Putin: You will not conquer Ukraine.
We stand with the brave, free people of Ukraine. We need to provide
them military assistance. We can't do that today, but we are providing
the economic tools that are necessary to stop the major purchases of
Russian oil and gas from fueling Putin's war machine.
President Zelenskyy has said to us from the beginning: Give us the
tools; we will do the job.
Today, we give him an essential tool.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The minority leader.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I yield back my time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Carolina.
Ms. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise today, and I am honored to
reiterate my full support for the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia
and Iran Act of 2026.
My late brother Lindsey was a foreign policy and national security
expert. He was also a peacemaker who was determined to bring an end to
the conflict in Ukraine. He worked tirelessly to achieve that goal.
Lindsey traveled to Ukraine on 10 separate occasions seeking an end to
this war.
Despite the Ukrainian people's unwavering resolve to fight back,
Russia has refused to stop.
On his last trip to Ukraine, Lindsey continued his work to achieve
peace. He understood that providing President Trump the tools contained
in this legislation would help push Russia to the negotiating table.
That had been his goal since day one.
We are all aware of the tremendous bloodshed. For more than 4 years,
Putin has wreaked havoc on the lives of everyday people, kidnapping
tens of thousands of Ukrainian children and committing unspeakable
acts. The war against Ukraine is primarily funded by the revenue Russia
rakes in from energy sales. Without these profits, the ability to fund
the war would be crippled.
This legislation hits Putin where it hurts. It contains provisions
that specifically target those who are supporting Russia's war in
Ukraine. This bill forces those primary countries keeping Russia's
economy afloat to make a simple yet critical choice--a choice between
doing business with America or buying cheap Russian energy. This
legislation tells Russia's customers that the United States of America
will not sit by while they fund Putin's assault.
The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 would
end Russia's network of aggression and criminal leadership.
History tells us that when an ambitious dictator goes after one
nation, he typically doesn't stop there. My brother knew this well, and
I am honored to continue his work of advancing this historic
legislation.
I would especially like to thank President Trump; my colleagues
Senator Blumenthal, Senator Britt, Senator Shaheen, and Senator Wicker
for their leadership in moving this forward
[[Page S4540]]
with me. I would also like to thank all the staff who have worked so
very hard.
In closing, over the past 2\1/2\ centuries, America has stood as a
beacon of hope to the free world.
Just as the backers of this war will soon be forced to make a choice,
each Member of this body must also make a choice: whether we have the
courage to stand up to evil or whether we will continue on with the
status quo.
It is time for a show of strength. It is time for action. It is time
for the Senate to pass the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and
Iran Act of 2026.
I yield the floor.
(Applause.)
Vote on H.R. 5334
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill having been read the third time, the
question is, Shall the bill, as amended, pass?
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the
Senator from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn), the Senator from Wyoming (Ms.
Lummis), and the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell).
The result was announced--yeas 86, nays 11, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 224 Leg.]
YEAS--86
Alsobrooks
Armstrong
Baldwin
Banks
Barrasso
Bennet
Blumenthal
Booker
Boozman
Britt
Budd
Cantwell
Capito
Cassidy
Collins
Coons
Cornyn
Cortez Masto
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Curtis
Daines
Duckworth
Durbin
Ernst
Fetterman
Fischer
Gallego
Gillibrand
Graham
Grassley
Hagerty
Hawley
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hoeven
Husted
Hyde-Smith
Johnson
Justice
Kaine
Kelly
Kennedy
Kim
King
Klobuchar
Lankford
Lee
Lujan
Marshall
McCormick
Merkley
Moody
Moran
Moreno
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Peters
Reed
Ricketts
Risch
Rosen
Rounds
Schatz
Schiff
Schmitt
Schumer
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Shaheen
Sheehy
Slotkin
Smith
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Tuberville
Van Hollen
Warner
Warnock
Whitehouse
Wicker
Young
NAYS--11
Blunt Rochester
Hassan
Hirono
Markey
Ossoff
Padilla
Paul
Sanders
Warren
Welch
Wyden
NOT VOTING--3
Blackburn
Lummis
McConnell
(Mr. HAGERTY assumed the Chair.)
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Graham). On this vote, the yeas are 86,
the nays are 11.
The 60-vote threshold having been achieved, the bill is passed.
The bill (H.R. 5334), as amended, was passed.
(Applause).
Amendment No. 6712
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Graham Amendment
No. 6712 to the title is agreed to.
The amendment (No. 6712) was agreed to as follows:
(Purpose: To amend the title)
Amend the title so as to read: ``An Act to impose sanctions
and other measures with respect to the Russian Federation, as
championed by the late Senator Lindsey O. Graham, and for
other purposes.''.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The title, as amended, is agreed to, and the
motions to reconsider are considered made and laid upon the table.
____________________