[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 67 (Wednesday, May 22, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H2931-H2932]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2215
                  WORLD BANK PLANS MORE LOANS TO IRAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Issa). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, yesterday evening I came to the floor to 
bring up a subject that has gotten far less attention than it deserves. 
And that is the plan of the World Bank, an organization funded 
substantially with your tax dollars in mind, to lend up to $755 million 
to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
  Last night I put into the Record of this House an article that was 
published by the Dow Jones International News that reviewed the facts, 
and I would like to review that article with you tonight along with 
some additional commentary.
  The article begins: ``The World Bank undeterred by President George 
W. Bush's condemnation of Iran as part of the axis of evil, undeterred 
by the fact that it is arming itself to threaten a peaceful world, the 
World Bank is pressing ahead with a plan that would provide as much as 
$755 million in loans to that government over the next 2 years.''
  Mr. Speaker, there are a few apologists for the government in Iran 
who note that there are reformers who play front roles, a president of 
Iran who exercises no power, it is almost an honorary position, who 
claims to have different views than those actually carried out by the 
government. But the reports of the American State Department say that 
reformers have been silenced, that there are public executions, public 
floggings which increased last year. And just on Monday the State 
Department announced that Iran is the number one governmental sponsor 
of terrorism.
  Now, in January President Bush identified Iran as a key threat to 
American security. But as he was doing that, a team of bank directors 
from the World Bank returned from a visit to Tehran, and they made a 
clear recommendation to the bank, ``deeper and faster involvement in 
Iran.'' That is the quotation attributed to Jean-Louis Sarbib, the 
bank's vice president for Middle Eastern and North African affairs.
  Now, the bank staff is reported by the Dow Jones International News 
to be planning first a loan of $150 million by the end of this year, 
and then as an element of a tentative plan, endorsed already by the 
bank's board of directors, the bank would proceed with up to $755 
million to Iran in fiscal years 2002 and 2003.
  Now, keep in mind the United States contributes 29 percent of the 
World Bank's capital. We are given only 16 percent of the World's 
votes. But do not believe that our 16 percent of votes will be 
sufficient to block this loan, because 2 years ago the World Bank over 
America's strenuous objections loaned $232 million to Iran. And let us 
not believe that this is just for humanitarian purposes. Because as the 
article continues, and I am quoted in the article as saying, and I 
think I said it right, ``The government of Iran will engage in the 
minimum domestic expenditures necessary to cling to power. Whatever is 
left over they are going to spend on terrorism and nuclear weapons.'' 
When the World Bank finances those minimum amounts of expenditure that 
the Iranian Government needs to hold on to power, it is freeing up oil 
revenues for terrorism and for a nuclear weapons program. It will 
certainly not be sufficient for us to do business as usual and to 
simply vote against these loans.
  That is why, Mr. Speaker, I hope that others will join me in crafting 
legislation that I am working on now and will present to this House 
just as soon as we return from Memorial Day. And under that legislation 
we would draw a line in the sand and tell the World Bank

[[Page H2932]]

that if they approve any additional loans to Iran that no additional 
American money would be given to that bank.
  We are planning to give them $877 million. We should not give them a 
penny after any day when they approve a loan to Iran.

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