October 30th, 2009 by Zack

The House Foreign Affairs Committee marked up the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act (H.R. 2194).  The meeting was opened with remarks from Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) and Ranking Member leana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) who then opened the floor to comments from members of the committee. The bill was widely supported by the committee with three representatives that offered dissenting speaches.  Ultimately, the measure was passed by a voice vote with the promise that Berman will push the bill to the House floor as soon as possible.

To read a PDF version of POMED’s notes, please click here. Or keep reading below the fold.

“Bill Markup: Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act”
House Foreign Affairs Committee
Rayburn Building 2172
October 28, 2009. 10:00 – 11:30 pm

The House Foreign Affairs Committee marked up the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act (H.R.
2194). The meeting was opened with remarks from Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) and
Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) who then opened the floor to comments from
members of the committee. Berman began his remarks by mentioning that both David Abramowitz
and Kristen Wells, staff members of the committee, will be leaving the committee for other
opportunities.

Berman explained that the goal of the bill was to maximize the chances of preventing Iran from
developing nuclear capabilities, which would pose a serious strategy threat to the U.S. He proposed
four reasons for this threat: Iran would be able to bully its neighbors, it would embolden Hezbollah and
Hamas, it would spark a regional nuclear arms race, and the U.S. could never be sure that Iran would
not share its nuclear know-how. He expressed his desire to give diplomacy a chance to succeed, but he
has not seen enough progress in terms of limiting Iran’s nuclear programs. He has not giving up on
diplomacy and if these sanctions do not work he believed there should be regional sanctions put
forward by the U.N. Security Council. Therefore, this committee will take the first step to ensure that
President Obama has the power to pressure Iran. If this bill is implemented it would have a
significant impact on the Iranian economy and would considerably affect the Iranian people. While
this is a distasteful prospect, the danger that a nuclear Iran poses to millions of people compels us to go
forward. Iranians should understand that America wants to be a friend to the Iranian people and that
the actions of their government have impaired that friendship. Sanctions worked in South Africa and
Zimbabwe, so should diplomacy fail we must be prepared to act.

Ros- Lehtinen argued that the threat Iran poses today is greater than it did in 1996 or 2006. Iran has
poured massive resources into its nuclear program. Now we seek to target Iran’s inability to refine
petroleum. The amendments added to this bill include an expansion of sanctions against refined oil
shipments via truck or train, additional reporting requirements, expressing a sense of Congress on
Iran’s new actions, and actions to help American hostages from 1979 receive compensation. The
successive administrations have refused to use the tools Congress has given them. She hoped that the
current administration does not enter into a diplomatic holding pattern with Iran. Without sanctions
Iran will continue to expand its abilities.

Gary Ackerman (D-NY) supported the bill and argued that Iran must pay the price for its actions and
it needs to know Congress is serious. There needs to be a comprehensive strategy beyond diplomacy
and sanctions; there is currently too much initiative in Iran’s hands. Dan Burton (R-IN) urged the
chairman to prevent this bill from being delayed in other House committees. Brad Sherman (D-CA)
supported the bill and wanted additional sanctions applied until Iran stops it centrifuges. Mike Pence
(R-IN) explained that sanctions and diplomacy are not mutually exclusive and the Iran has declared
war on its own people. Eliot Engel (D-NY) he also supported the bill and spoke about the sanctions
and diplomacy effort he spearheaded against Syria. Christopher Smith (R-NJ) argued that the
sanctions sought to address the will of the people and he questioned the State Department’s decision to
limit funding to Freedom House and IRI. Albio Sires (D-NJ) spoke out against China’s growing
influence with Iran and its work to support their oil and weapons development. Gerald Connolly (DVA),
Edward Royce (R-CA), Michael McMahon (D-NY), and Gene Green (D-TX) all spoke in
support of the bill. Michael McCaul (R-TX) raised the issue of the need to give this bill teeth and
worried about Venezuela’s intention to provide refined oil.

Ron Paul (R-TX) spoke out in opposition of the bill, arguing that the sanctions are deeply flawed and
will do more harm than good. He declared sanctions are an act of war and asked how the U.S. would
respond in the same situation. Iran has the right to enrich and they have never been found to violate
the non-proliferation treaty. The U.S. drove Iraqis into the hands of the Iranians, an unintended
consequence of the war, and these sanctions are the best thing for China. If the U.S. punishes the
Iranian people they will not get angry with the regime, but with the U.S. He did not understand why
the Congress sought to disrupt Obama’s policy of engagement and he argued the Congress is not
looking at the unintended consequences of these sanctions. He concluded, “Motivations are not the
answer…we need to look at the consequences.”

Jeff Flake (R-AZ) also questioned the efficacy of moving in this direction. The next step from these
sanctions will be to later tie the hands of the administration with unilateral action. He argued that
unilateral sanctions against Cuba have hindered democracy promotion and multilateral sanctions that
could be more effective in this case. Keith Ellison (D-MN) was the only other representative to speak
out against sanctions. He argued against the timing of the bill and said that diplomacy was making
important gains to limit Iranian nuclear activity. The Iranian opposition leaders do not support
sanctions because they will only hurt the people. These sanctions will also increase Iranian
Revolutionary Guard Corps’ black market strengths. Congress needs to give Obama a chance.

The bill was then passed by a voice vote.

Posted in Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Diplomacy, Iran, US foreign policy |