Whereas the Government of Iran was designated a state
sponsor of terrorism under section 6(j)(1)(A) of the Export Administration Act
of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2405(j)(1)(A)), section 620A(a) of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371(a)), and section 40(d) of the Arms
Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2780(d));
Whereas, according to the Department of State’s Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2008, the Government of Iran's “poor
human rights record worsened, and it continued to commit numerous serious
abuses … the government severely limited citizens' right to change their
government peacefully through free and fair elections … authorities held
political prisoners and intensified a crackdown against women's rights
reformers, ethnic minority rights activists, student activists, and religious
minorities”;
Whereas the Government of Iran has engaged in a pattern of
deception and evasion while the international community has sought to ensure in
good faith that Iran does not develop nuclear weapons, and poses a direct
security threat to the United States and its allies in the region;
Whereas the Government of Iran and pro-government militias
continue to brutally suppress the Iranian people through censorship,
imprisonment, and continued acts of violence against citizens seeking the
exercise of basic freedoms;
Whereas the Government of Iran has been responsible for
the deaths of United States soldiers and civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan,
including Iran’s provision of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and
explosively formed penetrators to insurgent forces in both theaters of
war;
Whereas the Government of Iran provides significant and
ongoing economic and logistical support to terrorist organizations, including
Hezbollah, Hamas, and others;
Whereas officials representing the Government of Iran have
made and continue to make belligerent and unprovoked statements regarding the
most critical regional ally of the United States, the State of Israel,
including denial of the Holocaust and calls for the complete destruction of
Israel itself;
Whereas the concerns of the United States regarding Iran
are strictly the result of the actions of the Government of Iran, that the
people of the United States have feelings of friendship for the people of Iran,
and that cultural exchanges and regulated travel between the people of Iran and
of the United States is a benefit to both nations;
Whereas the Government of Iran regularly sponsors,
displays, and disseminates propaganda calling for the destruction or defeat of
the United States, often employing the phrase “Death to America”, and referring
to the United States as “the Great Satan”;
Whereas high-ranking members of the Government of Iran are
known to have traveled freely to the United States to make use of medical
facilities, visit tourist attractions, and in other ways enjoy access to
social, economic, and recreational opportunities within the United States;
Whereas, due to a higher probability of satisfying the
economic and social criteria required as part of the Department of State’s
travel visa process, Iranians with economic and political connections to the
Government of Iran are more likely to enjoy the benefits of travel to the
United States than the average Iranian citizen; and
Whereas the United States cannot continue to allow the
inherent hypocrisy of an anti-American regime whose members benefit
disproportionately from the ability to travel freely to, and enjoy the benefits
of, opportunities, and resources available within the United States: Now,
therefore, be it
That it is the sense of Congress that any
official within the Government of Iran at the level of deputy minister or
higher or officer within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is presumptively
ineligible for a travel visa to the United States.