US Senate Passes Sweeping Russia Energy Sanctions Bill, the "Graham Act," 86 to 11

The US Senate passed a sweeping sanctions package targeting Russia's energy revenues by a vote of 86 to 11 on Friday, August 7, 2026 (16 Mordad 1405). According to Al Jazeera, the bill, dubbed the "Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026," sets 100 percent tariffs on major importers of Russian oil and gas and targets clandestine maritime networks used to evade Western embargoes. It now heads to the House of Representatives, which is not expected to vote before early September due to the congressional summer recess.

The bill is named for Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who died on July 11 after announcing, a day earlier, that the White House had agreed to advance new sanctions on Russian hydrocarbons. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the vote, while some House members raised concerns over the unrestrained tariff authority the bill grants President Trump.