National Taxpayers Union (NTU) urges senators to vote “NO” on the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026 (S. 5025), legislation that would cede additional Article I, Section 8 taxing authority to the executive branch.
Since the introduction of S. 5025 earlier this month, President Donald Trump has imposed roughly $100 billion a year in import taxes via Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, threatened to impose new 50% tariffs on selected Canadian goods via Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930—the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act—and threatened to impose 100% to 200% taxes on imported generic drugs.
The new Section 301 tariffs are allegedly intended to combat forced labor, but they even apply to countries that ban the importation of goods made with forced labor. The Section 338 tariffs address issues such as Canada’s retaliation against U.S. tariffs. The authority for new tariffs on generic drugs is likely to be based on an allegation that generic drug imports threaten to impair the national security of the United States.
These actions underscore the need for Congress to reclaim its constitutional authority. The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act, sponsored by Sens. Darline Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), along with 61 additional cosponsors, includes two tariff-specific provisions that would do the opposite.
One would require President Trump to impose tariffs of up to 500% on imports from Russia. Another would require President Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries that were among Russia’s top five export markets for crude oil or natural gas, or that were among the top five countries facilitating Russian oil sanctions evasion. President Trump has suggested expanding the bill’s coverage to additional countries.
Notably, all but one of the bill’s cosponsors signed on prior to President Trump’s threatened tariffs on generic drugs and on imports from Canada, or to the $100 billion a year in Section 301 tariffs Americans are now paying on imports from U.S. military allies including Japan, South Korea, Australia, and the European Union. These tariff actions should cause the bill’s cosponsors to reconsider.
The bill has reportedly been updated to limit the new tariff authority to five years. But absent more meaningful improvements, such as removing the tariff provisions from the bill entirely, roll call votes on the Sanctioning Russia Act will be included in NTU’s annual rating of Congress and a “NO” vote will be considered the pro-taxpayer position.
If you have any questions, please contact Director of NTU’s Free Trade Initiative Bryan Riley at briley@ntu.org.