Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026

Enumerated powers · passes

Congress has explicit authority under Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 to lay and collect taxes and to determine deductions that define adjusted gross income. Expanding eligibility for an existing above-the-line educator expense deduction is a direct exercise of the taxing power, not an unenumerated regulatory claim.

Bill of Rights · passes

The bill creates no restriction on speech, religion, assembly, press, arms, searches, trial rights, or other protections in Amendments 1-10. It expands a voluntary tax benefit and compels no belief, expression, or association. No First Amendment, Second Amendment, or Fourth Amendment interest is implicated.

Individual liberty · passes

The bill restricts no personal conduct regarding person, property, speech, labor, or belief. It increases individual sovereignty by allowing early-childhood educators to retain up to $300 more of their own earnings for unreimbursed classroom costs. No justification burden arises because no new compulsion is imposed.

Decentralization · passes

This is federal tax relief, not a new federal program. (1) Individuals and families already purchase classroom supplies themselves; the bill leaves that private action in place and reduces the tax penalty on it. (2) Local schools and communities remain fully able to fund and manage early-childhood education. (3) States retain full authority over education policy under the Tenth Amendment. (4) The bill does not consolidate decision-making upward; it withdraws a small amount of federal tax collection and leaves more resources and discretion at the lower levels.

Due process and takings · passes

No deprivation of life, liberty, or property under the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause. Notice and hearing requirements are satisfied through the normal public law and Internal Revenue Code amendment process. No property is taken; rather, less property is taken in tax. No retroactive penalty or presumption of guilt is created.