SEN. RAND PAUL: Congress Shouldn’t Tax Americans To Fight Putin

August 07, 2026 11:33 AM ET Increasing taxes on Americans will not end Putin’s war in Ukraine.The drafters of this legislation, understandably, wish to punish Vladimir Putin and send the Russian invaders back to where they came from.But this bill was written such that the drafters fail to see that it will not bring peace to Ukraine, but rather will deliberately make American families poorer by increasing tariffs, which are nothing but taxes on imported goods.To save Americans from what very well could be the largest tax increase imposed by a Republican Congress, I offer an amendment that strikes the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on an ever-changing list of countries. Congress should not delegate its constitutional duties to the Executive so shamelessly.My amendment does