“There is no greater way to honor Senator Graham’s legacy than to move forward with this bipartisan agreement, and we look forward to today’s vote,” it added.

The long-stalled bill was cleared on the day of Graham’s funeral in Washington, which was attended by President Trump and his guests, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. The US Senator died on July 11 following ⁠a brief and ‌sudden illness.

Zelensky, who is on a trip to Washington, was present at the Senate gallery to watch the vote.

What is the proposed law and how India is at risk?

The US Senate voted 86 to 12 to approve the first in a series of procedural motions on the bill, which is aimed at squeezing Russia’s revenue from oil and gas exports.

President Trump has indicated his support for the legislation, which is expected to hurt India and China among countries. India is one of the top buyers of Russian energy products, despite clamping down on its dependance on Moscow.

An analysis by The Indian Express showed that India paid nearly $15 billion for imports in March, April and May for oil purchases.

In the previous three months — December 2025 to February 2026 — imports worth Rs 42,506 crore were settled in rupees, equal to 2.4% of total inbound shipments.

This comes after the US announced sanctions waiver on purchase of Russian oil in view of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. US announced the sanctions waiver in March and it was extended till mid-June.

The Russia sanctions bill has been a long-sought legislation called by Graham, and pro-Ukraine lawmakers, who had earlier called for 500% tariffs on buyers of Russian energy products.

However, the new version of the bill proposes tariffs of up to 100% and tweaked the powers with the President to impose sanctions. The updated bill also exempts US allies that still purchase Russian oil products, but “demonstrably reduce their reliance on Russian-produced energy”, according to The Times.