WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives passed a bill that would authorise President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on Russia and steep tariffs on its trading partners in oil and gas, including India and China.
The Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, passed by the US Senate last month, was approved by the House in a 262-159 vote on Wednesday evening and will now go to Trump to be signed into a law.
Besides 203 Republicans, 58 Democrats and one Independent voted in favour of the legislation. Seven Republicans and 152 Democrats opposed it.
Democratic opposition largely centered around the tariff authorities provided to Trump.
The bill is named after Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who died in July after spending more than a year building support for it.
"What we're not for is giving more tariff authority to this president," Congressman Richard Neal, a Democrat, said during debate on the bill.
The bill seeks to impose sanctions not only on Russia’s leadership and energy sector, but also on the "shadow fleet" of vessels that enable Moscow to evade sanctions on oil deliveries.
It also seeks to authorise Trump to impose stiff tariffs on China, India and other countries to reduce their dependence on Russian oil and gas, as well as additional sanctions on Iran.
“China and India, you better buy your oil and gas somewhere else,” Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, told reporters after the passage of the Bill.
“Russia is getting that oil and gas sold by using the shadow fleet, which means that it's being bought at less than market rates, and it's going mostly to countries like China and India,” Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen said.
“China is the top user of Russian oil and gas, and we need to send a very strong message, not just to Putin, but to China, and to anybody who is buying Russian oil and gas, that they are going to pay a price for that,” Shaheen said.
The passage of the bill comes days ahead of China’s President Xi Jinping’s official visit to the US.
The Senate overwhelmingly passed the bill by a vote of 86-11 last month, but momentum slowed in the House.
Passage of the bill in the House came on the final day that the House is expected to be in session for votes before the Nov. 3 elections.
The vote on the bill is taking place at a time when pro-Ukraine groups have stepped up efforts to lobby support for their cause.
The Ukraine Action Summit, organised by the American Coalition for Ukraine, is underway here to lobby with US lawmakers for continued support of Kyiv.