US House passes Russia sanctions bill targeting energy revenues
A look back at the vote in Washington that put a bipartisan package of sanctions and possible tariffs on Russian oil and gas buyers before the president.
What did the US House of Representatives decide on 16 September 2026, and why did it matter for the sanctions regime built around Russia's war on Ukraine? On that day, the chamber passed a bipartisan bill aimed at Russia's energy revenues, its financial institutions, its officials and its shadow fleet.
The bill also authorised tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Russian oil and gas. That provision extended the pressure beyond Russia itself to the countries purchasing its energy.
After the House vote, the bill was due to go to President Donald Trump's desk. It would become law only if he signed it.
The wider sanctions picture
Sanctions on Russia date back to the full-scale invasion that began on 24 February 2022. The United States, the European Union and other Western countries then introduced or significantly expanded measures covering President Vladimir Putin, other members of the Russian government and Russian citizens more broadly. Some Russian banks were barred from the SWIFT international payments system.
Russian authorities have worked to soften the effect of those measures. They have procured essential goods from consumer products that are rarely subject to export restrictions, used globalised supply chains and turned to trading partners that have ignored Western sanctions, such as China, India, Turkey and the UAE. A tariff authority aimed at buyers of Russian oil and gas touched the same trade channels.
Washington's posture
The vote came under a second Trump administration that, since 2025, has proposed a peace deal and increasingly sought to distance itself from financially supporting Ukrainian resistance. The earlier Biden administration had provided military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Russia and Belarus. The House vote of 16 September 2026 was a bipartisan step on sanctions, with the final decision resting with the president.
