The US House of Representatives has approved a sweeping Russia sanctions bill, clearing the way for it to be sent to President Donald Trump despite Democratic concerns that it would expand his power to impose tariffs.
The measure passed by 262 votes to 159 on Wednesday, the final day the House is sitting before lawmakers leave Washington until after Election Day. Fifty-eight Democrats supported it, while seven Republicans voted against it.
The Senate approved the legislation with overwhelming bipartisan backing in August, following more than a year of negotiations led by the late Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. The bill now goes to Mr Trump’s desk.
What the Russia sanctions bill would do
The legislation would allow the president to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the five biggest purchasers of Russian oil or natural gas. Countries importing less than 15% of their natural gas from Russia could be exempted if they were taking “significant” steps to reduce those imports.
It would also impose sanctions on Vladimir Putin, members of his government, Russian oligarchs, banks and other financial institutions. At Mr Trump’s request, the bill extends sanctions to Iran’s energy and weapons sectors.
The president would have the power to waive the measures if he certified to Congress that doing so was in the national interest of the United States.
China and India are the largest buyers of Russian crude oil, while Europe has historically been Russia’s biggest natural gas customer. European Union imports have fallen significantly in recent years, as sales to China have increased.
The legislation gained fresh momentum after Mr Graham’s death in July. He died shortly after returning from Kyiv, where he announced that an agreement had been reached with the White House to advance an updated version of the bill.
Several senior House Democrats opposed the legislation in its current form. Representatives Gregory Meeks, Don Beyer and Richard Neal said it would “dramatically expand presidential tariff authorities” while failing to make sanctions on Russia mandatory.
They argued that the bill could increase prices for Americans and weaken long-term support for Ukraine. The Democrats said they would continue seeking bipartisan negotiations between the House and Senate on an alternative measure.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a speech before the vote that he could not support the bill because it contained “so many loopholes” that he doubted whether the sanctions “will ever see the light of day.”
Republicans pointed to support for the measure from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Representative Michael McCaul of Texas said tariffs would give the legislation its force, arguing: “You can evade sanctions — which the Russians have done for years — but you cannot evade tariffs.”
The bill narrowly passed a procedural hurdle on Tuesday after a small group of conservative Republicans opposed it or withheld their support. Two moderate Democrats, Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, backed the procedural motion, breaking with their party.
Mr Golden, who is retiring, said the stakes for Ukraine were too high to allow the measure to fail during the House’s final week in session before November. Ms Gluesenkamp Perez, who represents a competitive seat, cited the Ukrainian community in her constituency and said: “I’ll always stand with my community’s values.”
