[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 362 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 362

    Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the threat posed to 
   international peace, stability in the Middle East, and the vital 
 national security interests of the United States by Iran's pursuit of 
     nuclear weapons and regional hegemony, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 22, 2008

   Mr. Ackerman (for himself and Mr. Pence) submitted the following 
 concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
    Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the threat posed to 
   international peace, stability in the Middle East, and the vital 
 national security interests of the United States by Iran's pursuit of 
     nuclear weapons and regional hegemony, and for other purposes.

Whereas Iran is a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear 
        Weapons (NPT), has foresworn the acquisition of nuclear weapons by 
        ratification of the NPT, and is legally bound to declare and place all 
        its nuclear activity under constant monitoring by the International 
        Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA);
Whereas for nearly 20 years, in clear contravention of its explicit obligations 
        under the NPT, Iran operated a covert nuclear program until it was 
        revealed by an Iranian opposition group in 2002;
Whereas the IAEA has confirmed such illicit covert nuclear activities as the 
        importation of uranium hexafluoride, construction of a uranium 
        enrichment facility, experimentation with plutonium, importation of 
        centrifuge technology, construction of centrifuges, and importation of 
        designs to convert highly enriched uranium gas into metal and shape it 
        into the core of a nuclear weapon;
Whereas Iran continues to expand the number of centrifuges at its enrichment 
        facility, as made evident by its announced intention to begin 
        installation of 6,000 advanced centrifuges to enrich uranium, in 
        defiance of binding United Nations Security Council resolutions 
        demanding Iran suspend enrichment activities;
Whereas the November 2007 National Intelligence Estimate reported that Iran was 
        secretly working on the design and manufacture of a nuclear warhead 
        until at least 2003, but that Iran could have enough highly enriched 
        uranium for a nuclear weapon as soon as late 2009;
Whereas an Iranian nuclear weapons capability would pose a grave threat to 
        international peace and security by fundamentally altering and 
        destabilizing the strategic balance in the Middle East, and severely 
        undermining the global nonproliferation regime;
Whereas Iran's overt sponsorship of several terrorist groups, including Hamas 
        and Hezbollah, and its close ties to Syria raise the possibility that 
        Iran would share its nuclear materials and technology with others;
Whereas Iran continues to develop ballistic missile technology and is pursuing 
        the capability to field intercontinental ballistic missiles, a delivery 
        system suited almost exclusively to nuclear weapons payloads;
Whereas Iranian leaders have repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel, a 
        major non-North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally, and a member of the 
        United Nations;
Whereas the United States, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, and 
        Germany have offered, and continue to offer, to negotiate a significant 
        package of economic, diplomatic, and security incentives if Iran 
        complies with the United Nations Security Council's resolutions 
        demanding that Iran suspend uranium enrichment;
Whereas Iran has consistently refused such offers;
Whereas as a result of Iran's failure to comply with the mandates of the United 
        Nations Security Council, taken under Chapter VII of the United Nations' 
        Charter, the international community has imposed limited sanctions over 
        the past 2 years that have begun to have an impact on the Iranian 
        economy;
Whereas Iran's rapid development of its nuclear capabilities is outpacing the 
        slow ratcheting up of economic and diplomatic sanctions;
Whereas Iran has used its banking system, including the Central Bank of Iran, to 
        support its proliferation efforts and its assistance to terrorist 
        groups, leading the Department of Treasury to designate 4 large Iranian 
        banks proliferators and supporters of terrorism;
Whereas Iran's support for Hezbollah has enabled that group to wage war against 
        the Government and people of Lebanon, leading to its political 
        domination of that country;
Whereas Iran's support for Hamas has enabled it to illegally seize control of 
        Gaza from the Palestinian Authority, and to continuously bombard Israeli 
        civilians with rockets and mortars;
Whereas Iran continues to provide training, weapons, and financial assistance to 
        Shi'a militants inside of Iraq and antigovernment warlords in 
        Afghanistan;
Whereas those Shi'a militant groups and Afghan warlords use Iranian training, 
        weapons, and financing to attack American and allied forces trying to 
        support the legitimate Governments of Iraq and Afghanistan;
Whereas Iran is further destabilizing the Middle East by underwriting a massive 
        rearmament campaign by Syria;
Whereas through these efforts, Iran seeks to establish regional hegemony, 
        threatens longstanding friends and allies of the United States in the 
        Middle East, and endangers vital American national security interests; 
        and
Whereas nothing in this resolution shall be construed as an authorization of the 
        use of force against Iran: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) declares that preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear 
        weapons capability, through all appropriate economic, 
        political, and diplomatic means, is vital to the national 
        security interests of the United States and must be dealt with 
        urgently;
            (2) urges the President, in the strongest of terms, to 
        immediately use his existing authority to impose sanctions on--
                    (A) the Central Bank of Iran and any other Iranian 
                bank engaged in proliferation activities or the support 
                of terrorist groups;
                    (B) international banks which continue to conduct 
                financial transactions with proscribed Iranian banks;
                    (C) energy companies that have invested $20,000,000 
                or more in the Iranian petroleum or natural gas sector 
                in any given year since the enactment of the Iran 
                Sanctions Act of 1996; and
                    (D) all companies which continue to do business 
                with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps;
            (3) demands that the President initiate an international 
        effort to immediately and dramatically increase the economic, 
        political, and diplomatic pressure on Iran to verifiably 
        suspend its nuclear enrichment activities by, inter alia, 
        prohibiting the export to Iran of all refined petroleum 
        products; imposing stringent inspection requirements on all 
        persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains, and cargo entering or 
        departing Iran; and prohibiting the international movement of 
        all Iranian officials not involved in negotiating the 
        suspension of Iran's nuclear program; and
            (4) urges the President to lead a sustained, serious, and 
        forceful effort at regional diplomacy to support the legitimate 
        governments in the region against Iranian efforts to 
        destabilize them, to reassure our friends and allies that the 
        United States supports them in their resistance to Iranian 
        efforts at hegemony, and to make clear to the Government of 
        Iran that the United States will protect America's vital 
        national security interests in the Middle East.
                                 <all>