Jeanne Shaheen

Mr. President, I am so pleased to come to the floor this morning to join Senator Blumenthal, one of the sponsors of this legislation, to remember Senator Lindsey Graham and to thank everyone who has worked so hard on this legislation: the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act. And I so appreciate Darline Graham's being here and her support for this.

So I am here to support the underlying bill, but I also am here to oppose the Paul-Wyden amendment. Now, I understand the concern of some of my colleagues on tariffs. I share those.

I co-led an amicus brief, challenging the President's illegal use of IEEPA to impose tariffs, and appreciated Senator Wyden's partnership on that. That argument prevailed at the Supreme Court.

I also oppose any abuse of the tariff authorities that are currently on the books. But the authority in this bill to impose tariffs is very narrowly scoped, and it contains clear guardrails. It explicitly says that the only countries that can be subject to tariffs are the top five purchasers of oil or gas--the top five--and the top five sanctions evaders for Russian oil.

So if we are going to be successful at putting pressure on that we need to put pressure on to get Vladimir Putin to the table, we have got to shut down the money that he is getting from oil and gas, and that is what this bill would do.

These tariffs have one purpose: to make it more costly for countries to keep buying the Russian energy that funds Putin's war.

This amendment does not restore Congress' constitutional authority over trade, which listening to the authors, you might question. And if this amendment is adopted, President Trump's existing tariff authorities remain exactly where they are today. The only thing that would change would be our ability to put pressure on countries that are still buying Russian energy. So I oppose this amendment. I urge my colleagues to oppose it as well.

And I think one of the critical issues here is the urgency of where we are in this war right now. The momentum is on Ukraine's side. This is Russia's worst summer of the war yet, but we know the situation can change quickly against Ukraine.

China is supporting Russia's efforts to regain battlefield advantage by helping the Russians develop their own version of Starlink, one of the things President Zelenskyy raised a concern about the last time Senator Graham and I had a chance to meet with him in Ankara at the NATO summit.

According to President Zelenskyy, that technology that China is working on can be available as early as November. That would advance Russia's drone technology to catch up with Ukraine. The battlefield could look significantly different in the next 6 to 12 months, and that could roll back Ukraine's advantages.

Now is the time to put more pressure on Putin. This legislation, if it is advanced before the August recess, will be ahead of Russia's upcoming elections. They hold their legislative elections in mid- September. After that, Putin is likely to be required to change conscription in response to the severe shortage of recruits because they are losing 35,000 Russians a month.

Advancing the legislation ahead of Russia's upcoming elections will increase pressure on Putin to seriously revisit prospects for a peace deal.

And make no mistake: Russia is watching what we do. We have the history of this war to show that every time the United States backs away from putting pressure on Russia, from helping Ukraine, from funding the war, Russia ramps up its attacks in Ukraine. It kills more civilians.

And that is where we are. If we can't shut down the funding for the war machine that Russia is using against Ukraine, then they are going to keep at it. We have to show the determination that the United States feels to support this emerging democracy that Senator Blumenthal was so eloquent to talk about.

So that is why there is real urgency for what we are doing today, not just to pass this underlying sanctions bill but to make sure that the tariffs that are funding Russia's war machine can shut down the oil and gas that is keeping that war machine going.

So I hope all of my colleagues will oppose this amendment and support the underlying bill.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senators Shaheen, Blumenthal, and Schumer be recognized for up to 1 minute each.

Mr. President, colleagues, every day that Russia earns billions from energy exports, it has more resources to finance this war. Every day that Putin has those resources, he gains more time. Every day that Putin gains more time, more Ukrainians are killed.

This legislation is what President Zelenskyy asked us to do. This is what Senator Graham worked so hard to achieve. I hope we can give it an overwhelming vote.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, while I voted No on S. Res. 817, which calls for an up or down vote on 74 nominations, en bloc, I would have voted yes on the following nominations if I had the opportunity to vote on each nomination separately:

1. Calendar No. 729: John Breslow, of Arizona, to be

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United

States of America to the Republic of Cyprus.

2. Calendar No. 730: Todd Steggerda, of Virginia, to be

Representative of the United States of America to the Office

of the United Nations and Other International Organizations

in Geneva.

3. Calendar No. 731: Adam Cassady, of Virginia, to be

Ambassador at Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy.

4. Calendar No. 732: Preston Wells Griffith III, of

Virginia, to be Representative of the United States of

America to the Vienna Office of the United Nations.

5. Calendar No. 733: Preston Wells Griffith III, of

Virginia, to be Representative of the United States of

America to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

6. Calendar No. 734: Fleet White, of Virginia, to be an

Assistant Secretary of State (Political-Military Affairs).

7. Calendar No. 739: Kenneth Sorenson, of Hawaii, to be

United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii for the

term of four years.

8. Calendar No. 740: Johnson TeeHee II, of Oklahoma, to be

United States Marshal for the Eastern District of Oklahoma

for the term of four years.

9. Calendar No. 746: Timothy VerHey, of Michigan, to be

United States Attorney for the Western District of Michigan

for the term of four years.

10. Calendar No. 748: Jack Chambers, of West Virginia, to

be United States Marshal for the Southern District of West

Virginia for the term of four years.

11. Calendar No. 749: Jason Holt, of Oklahoma, to be United

States Marshal for the

Northern District of Oklahoma for the term of four years.

12. Calendar No. 757: Michael Kavoukjian, of Florida, to be

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United

States of America to the Kingdom of Norway.

13. Calendar No. 761: Eric Wendt, of California, to be

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United

States of America to the Republic of Albania.

14. Calendar No. 762: David Brat, of Virginia, to be

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United

States of America to the Commonwealth of Australia.

15. Calendar No. 781: Sean Costello, of Alabama, to be

United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama

for the term of four years.

16. Calendar No. 822: David M. Prouty, of Maryland, to be a

Member of the National Labor Relations Board for the term of

five years expiring August 27, 2031. (Reappointment).

17. Calendar No. 823: Brett Matsumoto, of Maryland, to be

Commissioner of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor, for a

term of four years.

18. Calendar No. 826: Kaveh Farzad, of Maryland, to be an

Assistant Secretary of Energy (International Affairs).

19. Calendar No. 835: Christopher Michael De Bono, of the

District of Columbia, to be an Associate Judge of the

Superior Court of the District of Columbia for the term of

fifteen years.

20. Calendar No. 836: Sharon E. Goodie, of the District of

Columbia, to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of

the District of Columbia for the term of fifteen years.

21. Calendar No. 837: Bradford Pentony Wilson, of New

Jersey, to be Archivist of the United States.

22. Calendar No. 842: Michael Christopher DiLorenzo, of the

District of Columbia, to be an Associate Judge of the

Superior Court of the District of Columbia for the term of

fifteen years.

23. Calendar No. 843: Craig Edward Leen, of the District of

Columbia, to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of

the District of Columbia for the term of fifteen years.

24. Calendar No. 844: Christine Michelle Macey, of the

District of Columbia, to be an Associate Judge of the

Superior Court of the District of Columbia for the term of

fifteen years.

25. Calendar No. 845: John Barlow Timmer, of the District

of Columbia, to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court

of the District of Columbia for the term of fifteen years.

26. Calendar No. 848: James Andrew Crowell IV, of the

District of Columbia, to be an Associate Judge of the

District of Columbia Court of Appeals for the term of fifteen

years.

27. Calendar No. 849: Stuart Gordon Nash, of the District

of Columbia, to be an Associate Judge of the District of

Columbia Court of Appeals for the term of fifteen years.

28. Calendar No. 850: Rudolph Bauer, of South Carolina, to

be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United

States of America to Belize.

29. Calendar No. 853: Barbera Thornhill, of North Carolina,

to be Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat

Trafficking, with the rank of Ambassador at Large.

30. Calendar No. 854: Christopher Anderson, of Wisconsin,

to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the

United States of America to the Kingdom of Cambodia.

31. Calendar No. 855: Stanley Brown, of Virginia, to be

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United

States of America to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea.

32. Calendar No. 856: Joseph Burkhalter, of Georgia, to be

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United

States of America to the Republic of Moldova.

33. Calendar No. 857: John Hurley, of California, to be

Representative of the United States of America to the

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, with

the rank of Ambassador.

34. Calendar No. 858: Daniel Perez, of Florida, to be

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United

States of America to Brazil.

35. Calendar No. 859: Laurence Socha, of Illinois, to be

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United

States of America to the Republic of The Gambia.

36. Calendar No. 860: Juan Segura, of Virginia, to be an

Assistant Secretary of State (Western Hemisphere Affairs).

37. Calendar No. 863: Brendan Hanrahan, of New York, to be

an Assistant Secretary of State (European and Eurasian

Affairs).

38. Calendar No. 864: Donald Blome, of Illinois, to be an

Assistant Secretary of State (Near Eastern Affairs).

39. Calendar No. 865: Katherine Bowles, of Alabama, to be

an Assistant Secretary of State (Legislative Affairs).

40. Calendar No. 868: Thomas B. Chapman, of Maryland, to be

a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board for a

term expiring December 31, 2028. (Reappointment).

41. Calendar No. 869: Karen Jean Hedlund, of New York, to

be a Member of the Surface Transportation Board for a term

expiring December 31, 2030. (Reappointment).

42. Calendar No. 874: Roger Mason, of Virginia, to be

Director of the National Reconnaissance Office.

43. Calendar No. 899: Mark Cruz, of Oregon, to be Director

of the Indian Health Service, Department of Health and Human

Services, for the term of four years.

44. Calendar No. 903: Christopher Nassar, of Oklahoma, to

be US Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma.