Senate Advances Plan To Lower Prices By Doubling Them

The Senate voted 86-12 Tuesday to advance the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, a landmark affordability measure intended to help Americans forget current prices by replacing them with much larger ones. The bipartisan bill would authorize President Donald Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on goods from countries that purchase Russian oil and natural gas, while extending sanctions on Iran. Economists said doubling import costs would allow today’s grocery, clothing and electronics prices to become cherished memories of an era of reckless abundance.

Trump endorsed the legislation’s central principle that foreign governments personally operate American cash registers and therefore absorb every tariff without passing along a cent. “Nobody understands affordability better than I do, and if a product costs twice as much, it becomes twice as valuable to the person buying it,” Trump said. “China pays, Russia pays, everybody pays except Americans, who simply hand over the additional money as a patriotic gesture.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune praised the vote as evidence that Washington can still achieve overwhelming bipartisan agreement whenever lawmakers give the president an enormous tariff dial and write “national security” above it.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who helped negotiate the legislation championed by Sen. Lindsey Graham, said the tariffs would punish foreign adversaries rather than American consumers, because importers have long agreed to treat higher taxes as private emotional burdens instead of business expenses. Under the bill’s consumer character-building provisions, households could soon pay premium prices for appliances, clothing, phones and other imported goods while gaining valuable experience in postponing purchases, reducing meals and discovering which children truly need shoes. Supporters said the policy would also weaken Russia by ensuring Americans buy fewer products from countries that buy Russian energy, thereby converting domestic financial strain into a sternly worded geopolitical signal. The Senate has established that Americans become more prosperous each time the government makes prosperity more expensive.

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