The House passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act 262–159 last night and sent it to the President. The Senate had already passed it 86–11 in August.
Though the margin looks comfortable, passage was an uphill battle. The details matter for understanding Ukrainian advocacy.
For clarity: the House didn't vote on H.R. 10076, which is still in committee. It voted to accept the Senate's changes to H.R. 5334, an old tax bill that served as the carrier for the Senate text (roll call 308).
The Republicans
The Republican leadership and President Trump supported this bill, and the Republican coalition held together. 203 voted yes, and 7 voted no. A better result than expected. Rep. McCaul (R-TX) led the push in the House and spoke strongly in support in a heated Committee exchange with Rep. Meeks (D-NY).
The House Freedom Caucus, the isolationist wing of the party, has 35 members. The Ukraine Supplemental Bill, a major funding bill passed under the Biden Presidency, saw 112 House Republicans vote no, as Ukraine became a hot-button issue during the presidential campaign.
52 out of 53 Republican Senators voted for the bill.
The 7 Republicans who voted against the bill: Thomas Massie (KY), Andy Harris (MD), Ralph Norman (SC), Chip Roy (TX), Keith Self (TX), Tom McClintock (CA) and Warren Davidson (OH).
The Democrats
The Democrat side was more complicated.
In the Senate, Democrat leadership supported the bill, and 36 Dem Senators voted in favor. The progressive wing, led by Sen. Warren and Sanders, voted against, with Ossoff joining in.
During the Biden Presidency, the Dem Caucus in Congress voted nearly unanimously for Ukraine. The Graham Russian sanction bill split the Dem Caucus due to the tariff question.
The key feature of the Graham Sanction bill was secondary tariffs on countries that purchase Russian energy. Energy exports account for 90% of Russian export earnings.
Since 2022, Russian energy has been selling at a discount on the world market as Europe has transitioned away from Russian energy. As a result, China, India, and Turkey have been purchasing discounted Russian energy.
The Graham Sanction bill gives the executive branch the ability to place tariffs on the 5 biggest buyers of Russian energy and waive sanctions with limited oversight from Congress.
Sen Warnock (D-GA) held support until additional safeguards were added to the bill, which limited executive discretion in executing this bill. Sen Blumenthal (D-CT) played a key role in the passage of the bill both in the Senate vote and in the lead-in to the House vote.
Dem leadership in the House has been battling with the President over tariff authority throughout President Trump's second term. Rep. Meeks (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the Dems on the House Ways and Means Committee led opposition to this bill.
The New Democrat Coalition, led by Chair Schneider (D-IL), also came out against. Thus, the bill forced members of the Dem party to choose between supporting leadership and supporting Ukraine.
When the bill was introduced, only 9 Dems co-sponsored it in the House, as opposed to 35 in the Senate. The procedural vote that nearly sank the bill
While the full House vote was on Wednesday, the real test came a day earlier, on the procedural rule that let the bill reach the floor.
It passed 214–211 (roll call 300).
Rep. Golden (D-ME) and Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) were the only Democrats to cross over. Both Reps. represent districts Trump won in Nov. and are members of the Blue Dog Coalition of the Dem party. Republicans Harris and Norman voted against it. Flip two votes, and there's no final vote at all.
The Dem final vote
With the Republicans holding a 3-seat majority in the House, Dem support for the bill was crucial. Without strong confidence in passage, Speaker Johnson was unlikely to bring it to a vote. Total Republican defections were unknown, thus, at least 20 Dems were needed for support.
After strong outreach by the Ukrainian community, as well as AIPAC and other orgs coming out in support of the bill, 58 Dems voted in favor.
Reps Hoyer (D-MD) and Gottheimer (D-NJ) rallied Dem support. Additional thanks to Rep. Kaptur (D-OH), who was lead co-sponsor along with Rep. McCaul (R-TX). Ukraine stalwarts such as Quigley (co-chair of Ukraine, D-IL), Dean (D-PA) and Vindman (D-VA) voted in favor.
Pro-Israel Dems who support the Iran sanctions, and Goldman (D-NY) voted in favor. As did pro-Energy Dems, Vasquez (D-NM). Several Senior Dems who led support during the Biden Presidency also voted in favor: Pelosi (D-CA), Clyburn (D-SC), Raskin (D-MD). As well as National Security Dems, such as Houlahan (D-PA), Moulton (D-MA). Unfortunately, the progressive wing of Dem House voted against the bill, including Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Khanna (D-CA), and Tlaib (D-MI).
There is an important lesson for the Ukraine community about identifying and working with supportive coalitions on key bills.
What it Means for Ukraine:
The bill now goes to the White House for signature into law.
Assuming it passes, this is the broadest sanctions law Congress has passed against Russia since the full-scale invasion. It hits Russian officials, oligarchs, banks and the shadow fleet. It also goes after the countries keeping Russia's oil money flowing: tariffs are aimed at the five largest importers of Russian energy and the five countries doing the most to help Russia evade sanctions (ABC News).
It also extends the Iran Sanctions Act, which would otherwise expire December 31. Russia and Iran share one supply chain, and now U.S. law treats them that way. Zelensky called it "a very important historical moment." Hoyer put it more bluntly: failure would mean "cheers in the Kremlin and tears in Kyiv" (ABC7).
Note: passing the bill doesn't make it happen. The tariffs are authorized, and the waivers are there if the White House wants them. How they will be implemented matters.
This is the gap that Dems were warning about. It is incumbent on the Ukraine community to follow through and monitor execution of the bill.
*AmUkr has released a report on Ukrainian Strikes and American Sanctions: Emptying the Tank on the Russian War Machine. If you would like to receive a copy to send to your Congressmen, write to: info@amukr.org
This bill does not supply Ukraine with weapons nor with Patriots to protect civilians from Russian bombings. Tragically, Russia reacted to the passage with a massive bombardment of Ukrainian cities.
Please reach out to your Representative today and thank them for supporting this bill. Then, let's start monitoring the bill and pushing for weapons for Ukraine.
| Vote | Republicans (yes–no) |
Democrats (yes–no) |
Independent | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final passage, Sept 16 | 203–7 (8 not voting) |
58–152 (4 not voting) |
Kiley: yes | 262–159 |
| Rule, Sept 15 | 211–2 | 2–209 | Kiley: yes | 214–211 |