Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010

H.R.2194
Introduced: 
April 30, 2009
111
First
July 1, 2010
Became Public Law

343 cosponsors

This ‘omnibus’ sanctions bill combines the provisions of a number of bills requiring the president to impose economic and trade sanctions against Iranian government officials and financial institutions, and companies doing business there. According to its sponsor Howard Berman, the bill is designed to cripple the Iranian economy by limiting its access to refined petroleum (e.g., gasoline, kerosene, and fuel oil) and the international financial system. The bill requires the president to sanction any company that sells refined petroleum products to Iran, shipping companies that transport the products, and companies that insure them.

The president may waive application of these measures against individual companies and persons if he finds it in U.S. national security interests and reports his justification for the waiver to Congress. The administration wanted authority to grant blanket exemptions for cooperating countries and the companies based there, but key members of the House and Senate, as well as AIPAC, opposed such broad waiver authority.

The bill further states the finding of Congress that Iran’s nuclear program and support for international terrorism threaten Israel, and the sense of Congress that U.S. policy should be to counter the support given to Hizballah by Iran and other countries by imposing sanctions on Hizballah and renewing international efforts to disarm it.

The bill and its Senate companion measure (S. 908 of 4/28/09) were originally introduced days before AIPAC’s 2009 annual policy conference opened on 2 May. It ended on 5 May with a lobbying day on Capitol Hill, when thousands of AIPAC supporters met with their representatives and senators to press for AIPAC-backed legislative initiatives, of which the Senate and House versions of this bill were the top priority. Additionally, on 10 September 2009, some 200 representatives of national Jewish organizations lobbied Congress and the Obama administration to support the bill in an initiative dubbed the National Jewish Leadership Advocacy on Iran. The effort was organized by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Iran led by the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, among others.

By the beginning of 2010, the bill had already passed in the House, and the Senate had passed its own version. But with the two bodies required to reconcile the differences and agree on an identical text, the bill stalled, as leaders in the House, especially Foreign Affairs committee chairman Berman, held up the reconciliation process to allow President Obama to pursue multilateral sanctions against Iran through the UN Security Council. An article published on 3/6/10 by the New York Times revealing that the past three U.S. administrations had awarded contracts, grants, and loans worth $170 m. to companies doing business with Iran in defiance of existing sanctions laws introduced a sense of urgency to pass the bill. In response, AIPAC President David Victor and Executive Director Howard Kohr made the rare move of sending a public letter to every member of Congress calling on them to investigate why successive administrations failed to implement existing U.S. sanctions on Iran, to enact this bill without delay, and to demand the Obama administration enforce existing sanctions.

On 3/17/10, AIPAC circulated a memo titled ‘Crippling Sanctions Needed to Prevent Nuclear Iran.’ Two days later, two letters (covering many of the same points) began circulating, one in the Senate and one in the House, for signatures and eventual delivery to President Obama. After laying out the advanced state of Israel’s nuclear program, the letters urged Obama to take immediate action (1) to stop Iran’s nuclear program because of the threat posed to the U.S., Israel, and the region; (2) to impose unilateral sanctions without any delay caused by inaction at the UN; (3) to enforce existing sanctions; and (4) to implement the sanctions in this bill. The Senate letter was

Sponsor/Cosponsors:

Gary Ackerman(D-)Robert Aderholt(R-AL)John Adler(D-NJ)Rodney Alexander(R-LA)Jason Altmire(D-PA)Robert Andrews(D-NJ)Michael Arcuri(D-)Steve Austria(R-OH)Joe Baca(D-CA)Michele Marie Bachmann(R-MN)Spencer Bachus(R-AL)Gresham Barrett(R-SC)John Barrow(D-GA)Roscoe Bartlett(R-MD)Joe Barton(R-TX)Melissa Bean(D-IL)Shelly Berkley(D-NV)Judy Biggert(R-IL)Brian Bilbray(R-CA)Gus Bilirakis(R-FL)Rob Bishop(R-UT)Sanford Jr Bishop(D-GA)Timothy Bishop(D-)Marsha Blackburn(R-TN)Roy Blunt(R-MO)John Boccieri(D-OH)John Boehner(R-OH)Jo Bonner(R-AL)Mary Bono Mack(R-CA)John Boozman(R-AR)Dan Boren(D-OK)Leonard Boswell(D-IA)Charles Jr Boustany(R-LA)Allen Boyd(D-FL)Robert Brady(D-PA)Kevin Brady(R-TX)Bobby Bright(D-AL)Paul Jr. Broun(R-GA)Henry Brown(R-SC)Corrine Brown(D-FL)Ginny Brown-Waite(R-FL)Vernon Buchanan(R-FL)Dan Burton(R-IN)Steve Buyer(R-IN)Ken Calvert(R-CA)John Campbell(R-CA)Eric Cantor(R-VA)Anh "Joseph" Cao(R-LA)Shelly Moore Capito(R-WV)Michael Capuano(D-MA)Dennis Cardoza(D-CA)Russ Carnahan(D-MO)Chris Carney(D-PA)John Carter(R-TX)Bill Cassidy(R-LA)Michael Castle(R-DE)Kathy Castor(D-FL)Jason Chaffetz(R-UT)Ben Chandler(D-KY)Travis Childers(D-MS)Judy Chu(D-CA)Yvette Clarke(D-)William Clay Jr(D-MO)Emanuel Cleaver(D-MO)Howard Coble(R-NC)Mike Coffman(R-CO)Stephen Cohen(D-TN)Tom Cole(R-OK)Mike Conaway(R-TX)Gerry Connolly(D-VA)Jim Cooper(D-TN)Jim Costa(D-CA)Jerry Costello(D-IL)Joe Courtney(D-CT)Ander Crenshaw(R-FL)Joseph Crowley(D-)John Culberson(R-TX)Elijah Cummings(D-MD)Artur Davis(D-AL)Danny Davis(D-IL)Lincoln Davis(D-TN)Susan Davis(D-CA)Peter DeFazio(D-OR)Diana DeGette(D-CO)Nathan Deal(R-GA)Rosa Delauro(D-CT)Charlie Dent(R-PA)Lincoln Diaz-Balart(R-FL)Mario Diaz-Balart(R-FL)Joe Donnelly(D-IN)Mike Doyle(D-PA)Steve Driehaus(D-OH)Chet Edwards(D-TX)Brad Ellsworth(D-IN)JoAnn Emerson(R-MO)Eliot Engel(D-)Anna Eshoo(D-CA)Bob Etheridge(D-NC)Mary Fallin(R-OK)Sam Farr(D-CA)Chaka Fattah(D-PA)Bob Filner(D-CA)John C. Fleming(R-LA)Randy Forbes(R-VA)Jeffrey Lane Fortenberry(R-NE)Bill Foster(D-IL)Virginia Foxx(R-NC)Barney Frank(D-MA)Trent Franks(R-AZ)Rodney Frelinghuysen(R-NJ)Marcia Fudge(D-OH)Elton Gallegly(R-CA)Scott Garrett(R-NJ)Jim Gerlach(R-PA)Gabrielle Giffords(D-AZ)Phil Gingrey(R-GA)Louis Jr. Gohmert(R-TX)Charlie Gonzalez(D-TX)Bob Goodlatte(R-VA)Bart Gordon(D-TN)Kay Granger(R-TX)Sam Graves(R -MO)Alan Grayson(D-FL)Al Green(D-TX)Gene Green(D-TX)Parker Griffith(D-AL)Raul Grijalva(D-AZ)Brett Guthrie(R-)Luis Gutierrez(D-IL)John Hall(D-)Debbie Halvorson(D-IL)Phillip Hare(D-IL)Jane Harman(D-CA)Gregg Harper(R-MS)Alcee Hastings(D-FL)Doc Hastings(R-WA)Martin Heinrich(D-NM)Dean Heller(R-NV)Jeb Hensarling(R-TX)Wally Herger(R-CA)Stephanie Herseth Sandlin(D-SD)Brian Higgins(D-)Baron Hill(D-IN)Jim Himes(D-CT)Paul Hodes(D-NH)Peter Hoekstra(R-MI)Tim Holden(D-PA)Rush Holt(D-NJ)Mike Honda(D-CA)Steny Hoyer(D-MD)Duncan Hunter(D-CA)Bob Inglis(R-SC)Steve Israel(D-)Darrell Issa(R-CA)Jesse Jackson Jr(D-IL)Sheila Jackson-Lee(D-TX)Lynn Jenkins(R-KS)Sam Johnson(R-TX)Timothy Johnson(R-IL)Hank Johnson(D-GA)James Jordan(R-OH)Steve Kagen(D-WI)Patrick Kennedy(D-RI)Dale Kildee(D-MI)Mary Jo Kilroy(D-OH)Pete King(R-)Steven King(R-IA)Jack Kingston(R-GA)Mark Kirk(R-IL)Ann Kirkpatrick(D-AZ)Larry Kissell(D-NC)Ron Klein(D-FL)John Kline(R-MN)Suzanne Kosmas(D-FL)Frank Kratovil(D-MD)Douglas Lamborn(R-CO)Leonard Lance(R-NJ)Jim Langevin(D-RI)Rick Larsen(D-WA)John Larson(D-CT)Tom Latham(R-IA)Steven Latourette(R-OH)Robert Latta(R-OH)Chris Lee(R-NY)Sander Levin(D-MI)Jerry Lewis(R-CA)John Lewis(D-GA)John Linder(R-GA)Bill Lipinski(D-IL)Frank Lobiondo(R-NJ)Nita Lowey(D-)Frank Lucas(R-OK)Blaine Luetkemeyer(R-MO)Dan Lungren(R-CA)Connie Mack(R-FL)Dan Maffei(D-NY)Carolyn Maloney(D-)Don Manzullo(R-IL)Kenny Ewell Marchant(R-TX)Betsy Markey(D-CO)Edward Markey(D-MA)Jim Marshall(D-GA)Eric Massa(D-NY)Jim Matheson(D-UT)Doris Matsui(D-CA)Carolyn McCarthy(D-)Kevin McCarthy(R-CA)Michael McCaul(R-TX)Tom McClintock(R-CA)Thaddeus McCotter(R-MI)Patrick McHenry(R-NC)John McHugh(R-)Howard McKeon(R-CA)Michael McMahon(D-NY)Cathy McMorris Rodgers(R-WA)Jerry McNerney(D-CA)Kendrick Meek(D-FL)Charles Melancon(D-LA)John Mica(R-FL)Mike Michaud(D-ME)Brad Miller(D-NC)Candice Miller(R-MI)Gary Miller(R-CA)Jeff Miller(R-FL)Walt Minnick(D-ID)Harry Mitchell(D-AZ)Dennis Moore(D-KS)Jerry Moran(R-KS)Patrick Murphy(D-PA)Chris Murphy(D-CT)Tim Murphy(R-PA)Scott Murphy(D-NY)Sue Myrick(R-NC)Jerrold Nadler(D-NY)Grace Napolitano(D-CA)Randy Neugebauer(R-TX)Devin Gerald Nunes(R-CA)Glenn Nye(D-VA)Pete Olson(R-TX)Frank Pallone Jr(D-NJ)Bill Pascrell Jr(D-NJ)Erik Paulsen(R-MN)Donald Payne(D-NJ)Mike Pence(R-IN)Edwin Perlmutter(D-CO)Gary Peters(D-MI)Joe Pitts(R-PA)Todd Platts(R-PA)Ted Poe(R-TX)Jared Polis(D-CO)Bill Posey(R-FL)Tom Price(R-GA)Adam Putnam(R-FL)Mike Quigley(D-IL)George Radanovich(R-CA)Denny Rehberg(R-MT)Dave Reichert(R-WA)Laura Richardson(D-CA)Ciro Rodriguez(D-TX)David "Phil" Roe(R-TN)Mike D Rogers(R-AL)Mike J. Rogers(R-MI)Hal Rogers(R-KY)Dana Rohrabacher(R-CA)Tom Rooney(R-FL)Ileana Ros-Lehtinen(R-FL)Peter Roskam(R-IL)Mike Ross(D-AR)Steve Rothman(D-NJ)Lucille Roybal-Allard(D-CA)Ed Royce(R-CA)Dutch Ruppersberger(D-MD)Bobby Rush(D-IL)Tim Ryan(D-OH)Paul Ryan(R-WI)John Salazar(D-CO)Linda Sanchez(D-CA)Loretta Sanchez(D-CA)John Sarbanes(D-MD)Stephen Joseph Scalise(R-LA)Jan Schakowsky(D-IL)Mark Schauer(D-MI)Adam Schiff(D-CA)Jean Schmidt(R-OH)Aaron Schock(R-IL)Kurt Schrader(D-OR)Allyson Schwartz(D-PA)David Scott(D-GA)James Jr Sensenbrenner(R-WI)Pete Sessions(R-TX)John Shadegg(R-AZ)Brad Sherman(D-CA)John Shimkus(R-IL)Heath Shuler(D-NC)Bill Shuster(R-PA)Mike Simpson(R-ID)Albio Sires(D-NJ)Ike Skelton(D-MO)Louise McIntosh Slaughter(D-)Adam Smith(D-WA)Adrian Smith(R-NE)Chris Smith(R-NJ)Lamar Smith(R-TX)Mark Souder(R-IN)Zachary Space(D-OH)Jackie Speier(D-CA)John Spratt Jr(D-SC)Cliff Stearns(R-FL)Bart Stupak(D-MI)John Sullivan(R-OK)Betty Sue Sutton(D-OH)John Tanner(D-TN)Harry Teague(D-NM)Lee Terry(R-NE)Glenn Thompson(R-PA)Mike Thompson(D-CA)Todd Tiahrt(R-KS)Patrick Tiberi(R-OH)Dina Titus(D-NV)Paul Tonko(D-NY)Edolphus Towns(D-)Niki Tsongas(D-MA)Michael Turner(R-OH)Fred Upton(R-MI)Chris Van Hollen(D-MD)Pete Visclosky(D-IN)Greg Walden(R -OR)Timothy Walz(D-MN)Zach Wamp(R-TN)Debbie Wasserman-Shultz(D-FL)Henry Waxman(D-CA)Anthony Weiner(D-)Peter Welch(D-VT)Lynn Westmoreland(R-GA)Robert Wexler(D-FL)Charlie Wilson(D-OH)Joe Wilson(R-SC)Robert Wittman(R-VA)Frank Wolf(R-VA)David Wu(D-OR)John Yarmuth(D-KY)C W Bill Young(R-FL)Don Young(R-AK)

More info

For more information, Click Here to visit this measure’s page at congress.gov.