[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4303 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4303

 To enhance United States sanctions against Iran by targeting Iranian 
governmental officials, prohibiting Federal procurement contracts with 
   persons that provide censorship or surveillance technology to the 
    Government of Iran, providing humanitarian and people-to-people 
       assistance to the Iranian people, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 14, 2009

  Mr. Ellison (for himself and Mr. Delahunt) introduced the following 
 bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in 
 addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Oversight and Government 
    Reform, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To enhance United States sanctions against Iran by targeting Iranian 
governmental officials, prohibiting Federal procurement contracts with 
   persons that provide censorship or surveillance technology to the 
    Government of Iran, providing humanitarian and people-to-people 
       assistance to the Iranian people, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stand with the Iranian People Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS; STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Government of Iran has engaged in a brutal 
        crackdown on the Iranian people in the aftermath of the 
        disputed presidential election of June 12, 2009, stifling 
        freedom of speech, press, and assembly and violating 
        fundamental human rights.
            (2) On June 23, 2009, President Obama denounced the 
        crackdown on the Iranian people, saying ``The United States 
        respects the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and 
        is not at all interfering in Iran's affairs. But we must also 
        bear witness to the courage and dignity of the Iranian people, 
        and to a remarkable opening within Iranian society''.
            (3) On June 19, 2009, the House of Representatives adopted 
        H. Res. 560 by a vote of 405-1, ``expressing support for all 
        Iranian citizens who struggle for freedom, human rights, civil 
        liberties, and the protection of the rule of law''.
            (4) Iran's security forces, particularly the Iranian 
        Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij volunteer 
        militia, have been largely responsible for the violence and 
        brutality committed against the Iranian people in the recent 
        unrest.
            (5) Thousands of Iranian protesters have been arrested and 
        detained for taking part in public demonstrations, with many 
        being raped and tortured to extract false confessions to be 
        used against them and others as part of government-run ``show 
        trials''.
            (6) On June 20, 2009, twenty-six year old Neda Agha Soltan 
        was shot and killed by a member of the Basij militia, 
        symbolizing for Iranians and people all over the world the 
        government's brutal crackdown against peaceful demonstrators.
    (b) Sense of the Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
United States--
            (1) respects the sovereignty, proud history, and rich 
        culture of the Iranian people;
            (2) respects the universal values of freedom of speech, 
        freedom of the press, and the freedom to assemble;
            (3) respects and admires the Iranian people as they take 
        steps to peacefully express their voices, opinions, and 
        aspirations;
            (4) deplores and condemns the use of coerced confessions 
        and ``show trials'' as tools of political repression in Iran;
            (5) urges the Government of Iran to intensify its 
        cooperation on the case of Robert Levinson with the Embassy of 
        Switzerland in Tehran and to share the results of its 
        investigation into the disappearance of Robert Levinson with 
        the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and
            (6) recognizes the importance of diplomacy with Iran in 
        order to advance the national security interests of the United 
        States, but such diplomacy should not be construed as official 
        recognition of the declared results from the June 12, 2009, 
        Iranian presidential election.
    (c) Statement of Policy.--It should be the policy of the United 
States to--
            (1) work to ensure that sanctions are clearly targeted at 
        the Government of Iran and individuals within the Government of 
        Iran, rather than the Iranian society as a whole, in order to 
        avoid creating hardship and inflicting harm on the Iranian 
        people;
            (2) encourage United States allies to freeze bank accounts 
        held or controlled by Iranian Government officials who have 
        carried out human rights abuses against the people of Iran;
            (3) encourage United States allies to deny entrance visas 
        for non-official business to Iranian Government officials who 
        have carried out human rights abuses against the people of 
        Iran;
            (4) work in the United Nations Security Council to impose 
        multilateral political and financial sanctions against Iranian 
        Governmental officials, including officials of the IRGC and 
        Basij militia, who have carried out human rights abuses against 
        the people of Iran;
            (5) work within the United Nations to focus international 
        attention on and investigate human rights abuses in Iran, and 
        to secure the release of prisoners of conscience;
            (6) apply targeted political and financial sanctions 
        against a foreign person or foreign entity that provides 
        illicit support to the IRGC and Basij militia;
            (7) encourage cooperation between United States and Iranian 
        nongovernmental organizations, particularly with regard to 
        facilitating people-to-people exchanges; and
            (8) expedite admission to the United States of any national 
        of Iran who is under threat of severe penalty as a result of 
        participating in or reporting on pro-democracy activities 
        inside Iran, and should encourage other governments to accept 
        such Iranian refugees for resettlement, provided applicants 
        have not engaged in or provided support for acts of terrorism 
        and satisfy all criteria for acquiring refugee status.

SEC. 3. IMPOSING TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS AGAINST IRAN'S HUMAN RIGHTS 
              ABUSERS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State shall deny the issuance of 
a visa and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall deny admission to 
the United States to any official of the Government of Iran who is 
credibly alleged to have ordered, acquiesced to, or participated in 
human rights abuses against the people of Iran
    (b) Waiver.--The ban described in subparagraph (a) may be waived if 
the Secretary of State certifies to Congress that such a waiver is in 
the national interests of the United States.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON PROCUREMENT CONTRACTS WITH PERSONS OR ENTITIES 
              THAT PROVIDE CENSORSHIP OR SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY TO THE 
              GOVERNMENT OF IRAN.

    (a) Prohibition.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
head of an executive agency may not enter into or renew a contract for 
the procurement of goods or services with a person or entity that 
provides censorship or surveillance technology to the Government of 
Iran.
    (b) Waiver Provision.--The Secretary concerned may waive the 
application of the prohibition under subsection (a) with respect to a 
person or entity if the Secretary certifies to Congress that such a 
waiver is in the national interest of the United States.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``censorship or surveillance technology'' 
        means hardware, software, telecommunications equipment, or any 
        other technology that the President determines is designed to 
        provide a substantial capability--
                    (A) to restrict the free flow of information; or
                    (B) to disrupt, monitor, or otherwise restrict 
                speech;
            (2) the term ``executive agency'' has the meaning given 
        that term in section 4 of the Office of Federal Procurement 
        Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403); and
            (3) the term ``Government of Iran'' means any agency or 
        instrumentality of the Government of Iran, including any entity 
        that is controlled by the Government of Iran.
    (d) Effective Date.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), this 
        section shall apply to contracts entered into on or after the 
        date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 
        Act.
            (2) Exception.--With respect to a renewal of a contract, 
        this section shall apply to a contract renewed on or after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF UNITED STATES NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS' 
              ACTIVITIES IN IRAN FOR THE PROVISION OF HUMANITARIAN AND 
              PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Authorization.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
establishment and carrying out of operations in Iran for the direct 
provision of humanitarian and people-to-people assistance described in 
subsection (b) by any organization described in section 501(c)(3) of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 may not be prohibited or otherwise 
restricted.
    (b) Assistance Described.--The humanitarian and people-to-people 
assistance referred to in subsection (a) is assistance to--
            (1) promote adequate and reliable nutrition;
            (2) advance child survival and maternal health;
            (3) improve access to safe water, sanitation, and shelter;
            (4) prepare for and respond to natural disasters;
            (5) improve access to basic health care;
            (6) prevent and treat drug addiction;
            (7) strengthen education and literacy;
            (8) promote equal rights for women and minorities;
            (9) support human rights and representative governance;
            (10) foster international and religious understanding and 
        tolerance; and
            (11) facilitate international people-to-people exchanges.
    (c) Exception.--Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to an 
organization described in subsection (a) if such organization provides 
services or conducts transactions with any organization or entity that 
appears on the Department of the Treasury's Specially Designated 
Nationals List.
    (d) Notification and Waiver.--The Secretary of the Treasury may 
require organizations authorized under subsection (a) to notify the 
Department of the Treasury up to 14 days in advance of commencing 
operations in Iran. The Secretary of the Treasury may waive the 
application of subsection (a) if the Secretary determines that it is in 
the national security interests of the United States to do so.
    (e) Effective Date.--This section shall apply with respect to the 
establishment and carrying out of operations described in subsection 
(a) on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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