Washington, DC -- Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, delivered the following remarks during the House Rules Committee hearing to relay his opposition to the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 (H.R.10076) currently under consideration:

“Chair Foxx and Ranking Member McGovern,

“I’m here to speak in opposition to the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act -- a deeply flawed bill that, despite its title, is unlikely to result in any new sanctions on Russia. It will, however, hand the president sweeping new tariff authorities that he can abuse to raise costs on the American people.

“My position is entirely about the merits of the legislation. And because this is the Rules Committee, it bears emphasizing that the House of Representatives had absolutely nothing to do with its drafting, and this bill has not moved through committee. White House lawyers drafted the current text to maximize President Trump’s authority to impose new import taxes on the American people, and to minimize any obligation to actually impose new sanctions on Russia or its enablers.

“And it’s only coming to the floor because the president told Speaker Johnson he wanted the broad tariff authorities immediately. The Senate sending the House a bill does not relieve the House of its responsibility to review it. We have repeatedly opposed giving President Trump unchecked tariff authority; Congress should not respond now by handing this president even broader tariff power with too few guardrails.

“Some of my Majority colleagues may be comfortable moving a bill drafted by the Executive Branch to give the Executive Branch more power over an issue the Constitution delegates to Congress. The founders would not be.  

“Let me turn to the substance of the bill.

“First, sanctions. I fully support tougher sanctions on Russia, and have done everything in my power to help Ukraine. I stand fully with the Ukrainian people who have fought and died to save their country. That’s why I have been calling on this administration to sanction Russia more.

“The president already has the power to impose every single sanction or other form of transaction prohibition authorized by this bill. He can use these tools today, but for the past 19 months has chosen not to. Other than limited sanctions on two oil companies and their subsidiaries last fall, the administration has repeatedly refused to use the power it already has to put pressure on Russia.

“This president has lifted or let lapse sanctions on Russian actors that previous administrations put in place, while President Biden imposed about 1,500 sanctions per year on Russia during his term. And all of the sanctions in this bill can be waived at the president’s discretion. There are no safeguards around that waiver. 

“Nonetheless, because I am committed to finding a good-faith compromise that actually helps Ukraine, I would support this bill if the tariff language in Section 113 was removed.  

“As drafted, Section 113 directs the president to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on goods from major purchasers of Russian oil and gas and on so-called 'top oil sanctions evaders' without any clear definition of what constitute a top oil sanctions evader. Those authorities could reach a large share of U.S. imports and drive-up gas and food prices at a time when American households have already absorbed tens of billions of dollars in extra energy costs. 

“These are extraordinarily broad powers to give a president who calls himself 'Tariff Man,' who has already abused tariff authorities, and who has lost a case before the Supreme Court over misuse of IEEPA tariffs. With this language, he would be able to place tariffs on nearly any country he wants, using sanctions evasion as a pretext. Does anyone seriously believe President Trump will not use this broad language to target whichever government he is personally angry at?   

“We are already in a senseless trade war with Canada, despite the fact that our current trade framework with Canada is itself a trump-negotiated deal. The legal basis for this trade war is already dubious. That is precisely why the president wants this new, clearer and broader authority that this bill would provide.  

“I have proposed several amendments to fix this bill: working with Ranking Member Neal to remove the secondary tariffs; authorizing substantial foreign military financing for Ukraine; tightening the waiver language so President Trump would actually have to impose some of the sanctions, and clarifying that the EU cannot be tariffed as a bloc so that states that have been exemplary on Ukraine are not punished for the decisions of others.

“Let me sum up what will happen if this bill becomes law: the president will not impose tough new sanctions on Russia. But he will gain broad authority to tariff products and raise prices on goods from countries around the world – far beyond Russia and its energy clients.

“American families will pay the costs of this bill. Vladimir Putin will not. We do not need to go back to the drawing board, but we do need a negotiation to fix this legislation. Let’s work to find a compromise that properly punishes Russia for its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, while protecting the American people from reckless, inflationary tariffs. I yield back.” 

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