The American Coalition for Ukraine’s (ACU) fall Ukraine Action Summit arrived at a pivotal moment: the final days before the House vote on the Russia sanctions bill.
As lawmakers weighed their positions, advocates for Ukraine met with them as constituents, in some cases becoming the last people to make a direct appeal before the vote.
Interviews with participants offer a close-up view of those tense hours: lawmakers’ hesitation, advocates’ arguments, and the effort to turn uncertainty into support and a “yes” vote.
Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) had spent more than a year pressing Congress to adopt sweeping new sanctions against Russia. Weeks after his death in July, the Senate renamed the legislation in his honor and passed it 86 to 11, an overwhelming bipartisan vote that sent the measure to the House.
