Politics
Most Pennsylvania lawmakers back Trump-signed sanctions on Russia and Iran
The Center Square – A majority of Pennsylvania lawmakers signed onto legislation that authorizes and expands statutory sanctions, tariffs, and prohibitions…
By John Cole · 2026-09-22T20:40:58.132Z
The Center Square – A majority of Pennsylvania lawmakers signed onto legislation https://www.npr.org/2026/09/16/nx s1 5971289/russia sanctions house vote lindsey graham that authorizes and expands statutory sanctions, tariffs, and prohibitions on Russia, while also extending existing sanctions on Iran.
“For more than four years, the people of Ukraine have stared down Russian aggression and have done what seemed impossible: they have survived. They have stood their ground,” said U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan https://houlahan.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5197 , D 6th District. “And, with our support, they will outlast this brutal invasion.”
Last week, the U.S. House passed H.R. 5334, the “Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026,” by a 262 159 vote https://www.congress.gov/votes/house/119 2/308 , which was signed into law https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings statements/2026/09/congressional bill h r 5334 signed into law/ by President Donald Trump on Friday.
Twelve members of Pennsylvania’s delegation serving in the U.S. House, including Houlahan, voted in support.
“Supporting Ukraine is deeply personal to me, as my father fled Ukraine formerly, Poland with his mother to escape the Holocaust, but it is also in the best interest of all Americans,” Houlahan said, explaining her vote in support of this legislation. “A stronger Ukraine means a stronger United States. A more secure Ukraine means a more secure United States. A Ukraine free from Putin’s grasp ensures a United States free from Putin’s grasp, too.”
U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R 1st District, who serves as co chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, also voted in support of this legislation.
“Peace becomes possible when aggression carries a cost greater than its reward. For too long, Putin has relied on energy revenues, financial networks, and willing enablers to sustain his war against Ukraine,” Fitzpatrick said https://fitzpatrick.house.gov/2026/9/fitzpatrick helps secures final passage of lindsey o graham sanctioning russia and iran act . “This legislation goes directly at those lifelines. It uses America’s economic strength to raise the cost of continued aggression, increase the pressure on Moscow, and strengthen the prospects for a just and lasting peace—one that preserves a free and sovereign Ukraine.”
Fitzpatrick, who has visited Ukraine and met with Ukrainian leaders, said the bill makes clear that the U.S. “will not treat aggression as consequence free.”
“That is ultimately what this effort is about: standing against aggression, defending the principle of sovereignty, and using American strength to help create the conditions for peace,” he said. “Lindsey was an extraordinary partner in that work, and I was honored to build this effort alongside him and help see it through.”
U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, D 4th District, is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. She also joined a bipartisan delegation in a visit to Ukraine in 2024 to meet with U.S. troops in Poland, Ukrainian troops in Ukraine, and President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
“I have always stood with the people of Ukraine and the Ukrainian American community — including the large, welcoming population in my district — who have never given up hope,” Dean said, who voted in support of the legislation. “Today, the Ukrainian people are asking us again to stand with them, with their young democracy, as their indispensable ally. To offer hope.”
“I did not agree often with Senator Graham,” she continued. “Yet, he saw the moral imperative of supporting Ukraine in this war. This bill is not perfect, but it can do one important thing. To end this conflict, we must turn off the spigot of Russian fuel sales.”
U.S. Reps. Rob Bresnahan, R 8th District; John Joyce, R 13th District; Mike Kelly, R 16th District; Ryan Mackenzie, R 7th District; Dan Meuser, R 9th District; Scott Perry, R 10th District; Guy Reschenthaler, R 14th District; Lloyd Smucker, R 11th District; and Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson, R 15th District; also voted in support of the bill https://www.congress.gov/votes/house/119 2/308 .
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D 17th District, is one of four lawmakers from the Keystone State who voted no on this legislation.
“Ukraine is in a righteous fight against Russia’s illegal invasion, and I will continue to support Ukraine’s valiant efforts,” Deluzio said https://deluzio.house.gov/media/press releases/deluzio statement hr 5334 . “But I refuse to hand over even more tariff authority to Donald Trump, who has corruptly and recklessly deployed tariffs.”
The three other Pennsylvania lawmakers who voted against the legislation, all Democrats, are U.S. Reps. Dwight Evans, Summer Lee, and Mary Gay Scanlon.
U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Democrat representing parts of Philadelphia, did not vote.
The Democrats who voted in support of the legislation acknowledged the concerns about Trump’s tariff authority.
“I recognize that some of my colleagues have real concerns about how this legislation expands executive tariff authority, especially under this Administration,” Houlahan said. “I take these concerns seriously. But I also know that the tariff authority in this bill is strictly limited to those propping up the Kremlin.”
“President Trump’s attempts to enact unlawful and broadly harmful tariffs have been blocked by the Supreme Court. With this bill, tariffs beyond the scope of Russian sanctions will remain unlawful,” she added. “Together, Ukraine and the United States will not cower to destructive authoritarians. My vote today affirms that.”
Following her ‘yes’ vote, Dean explained that “our work in Congress does not stop here.”
“We must prevent President Trump from abusing any tariff authority or using them for his personal benefit, as he has continuously done before. We must ensure Russia’s war machine — not American families — bears the costs of Putin’s war crimes,” Dean said. “We must reclaim our constitutional authority over trade and create coherent policies that strengthen our economy and our national security. Finally, we must force the administration to provide the $400 million Congress has already appropriated to Ukraine.”
“And in the meantime, I will not stop fighting to bring home the at least 20,000 precious Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia,” she added. “These are the challenges ahead, but today, the most important question is — What are the people of Ukraine asking for? They are asking for hope, and that we cannot deny them.”
The bill passed the U.S. Senate in August by an even larger margin, 86 11. U.S. Sens. John Fetterman, D Pa., and Dave McCormick, R Pa., voted in favor.
"My friend Lindsey Graham spent his final months working to cut off the money fueling Putin’s war in Ukraine," McCormick said on X https://x.com/SenMcCormickPA/status/2102490671475024108 on Tuesday. Last week, @POTUS https://x.com/POTUS signed the bipartisan bill named for him into law, and at the @UN https://x.com/UN , he said he'd use its powers if necessary. Buyers of Russian oil, beware."
Pennsylvania is home to one of the largest pockets of Ukrainian culture in the country, with more than 120,000 declaring heritages to the nation. Tens of thousands have settled in the state since Russian launched its full scale invasion in February 2022.
This story originally appeared on thecentersquare.com https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article 53371216 c015 401d ae76 22056186a723.html .