[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 100 (Wednesday, July 26, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H5936-H5937]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           AMENDING THE IRAN AND LIBYA SANCTIONS ACT OF 1996

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 5877) to amend the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996 
to extend the authorities provided in such Act until September 29, 
2006.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 5877

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

     SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITIES UNDER THE IRAN AND LIBYA 
                   SANCTIONS ACT OF 1996.

       Section 13(b) of the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996 
     (Public Law 104-172; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended by 
     striking ``on the date that is 10 years after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act'' and inserting ``on September 29, 
     2006''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. 
Delahunt) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume, and I rise in strong support of H.R. 5877, a bill I introduced 
yesterday with Chairman Hyde of the House International Relations 
Committee; Mr. Lantos, coauthor of the Iran Freedom Support Act and 
ranking member of the International Relations Committee; and my ranking 
member on the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia, Mr. 
Ackerman.
  This bill is a simple housekeeping measure to, on one hand, prevent 
the original Iran and Libya Sanctions Act from lapsing; and, on the 
other hand, to afford additional time for the House and Senate to reach 
an agreement on the final text of the comprehensive Iran legislation, 
the Iran Freedom Support Act.
  The focus of the Congress continues to be that articulated through 
the Iran Freedom Support Act, which is to address the totality of the 
Iranian threat and strengthen our approach to this rogue state; to hold 
Iran accountable for its threatening policies; and to induce greater 
cooperation from our allies to compel Iran to cease and desist in its 
pursuit of nuclear weapons capabilities.
  To achieve that end, Mr. Speaker, we need H.R. 5877, which would 
extend the original ILSA until September 29 of this year, affording us 
the additional time to finalize the text of the Iran Freedom Support 
Act to be sent to the President for his signature.
  I ask for a ``yes'' vote on this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this 
legislation, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act is scheduled to lapse 
within days, and the legislation before the House will extend it until 
September 29. This reauthorization for a brief duration is necessitated 
by the fact that the House and Senate are still negotiating language on 
a new legislative construction of the Iran Libya Sanctions Act.
  We hope to complete this process soon with the passage of new 
legislation that will strengthen sanctions against Iran and remove from 
law the outdated references to sanctions on Libya, sanctions which 
anyway no longer apply because Libya has fulfilled the required 
conditions.
  I urge passage of this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Kucinich).
  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, as the work of the committee continues on 
this temporary reauthorization, I think it is important to have a few 
reflections. This is the 10th anniversary of the original sanctions 
law, and I think it would behoove us to ask what those sanctions have 
accomplished. This legislation seeks to renew for a period of 2 months 
a confusing, ineffective and, at best, counterproductive, at worst, 
counterproductive sanctions policy against Iran.
  Iran justly remains a focal point of security concerns for our 
Nation. It supports those who use violence as a means of settling 
political disputes. It

[[Page H5937]]

is threatening rhetoric with respect to Israel. And there is world 
concerns about its desire to ramp up nuclear production. All these 
things, in my judgment, make it mandatory the United States seek 
immediate talks with Iran.
  We must reach out to parties in the region to begin to negotiate an 
end to the violence and the beginning of a peace process leading to a 
permanent resolution. Now, our leaders haven't taken that approach. 
They are seeking to isolate Iran, and instead we are starting to 
isolate ourselves.
  These sanctions are indirect. They are not targeted at objectionable 
behavior. According to Anthony Wayne, the Assistant Secretary For 
Economic and Business Affairs, U.S. Department of State, testifying 
before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on 
June 28, 2001, talking about the Libya and Iran Sanctions Act, he says 
that ``it focuses on investment in order to limit revenue, rather than 
focusing directly on actions by Iran to procure weapons of mass 
destruction and support terrorism.'' He goes on to say that ``it goes 
against some of the friendly countries whose cooperation we need in 
working towards nonproliferation and counterterrorism goals.''
  So these sanctions haven't been effective. There is a question about 
whether any sanctions are going to be effective here. These sanctions 
add to the price of gasoline in the United States. We are paying for 
these failed sanctions every time we fill up our tank.
  Iran has the third largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia and 
Canada, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 
equaling 132.5 billion barrels. Iran has the second largest natural gas 
reserves after Russia, equaling 16 percent of the world's reserves. The 
administration hasn't done anything meaningful to break our country of 
its dependence on petroleum, so the reality is that sanctions against 
investments in Iran's oil and gas fields will cause U.S. consumers to 
pay higher prices for gasoline and natural gas.
  High prices protect the Iranian government from economic consequences 
of decreased investment. A military strike against Iran, which this 
country seems to be nodding towards, could send oil to $130 per barrel, 
according to CNN, making the $3 a gallon currently look like the good 
old days.
  Now, we have to take a new direction. The same geniuses who brought 
us the war in Iraq, who are standing by while violence overwhelms the 
Middle East, these same geniuses have this plan to keep sanctions on 
Iran, which will drive up the price of oil, so Iran can make more money 
selling their oil to other countries, and the oil industry in the U.S. 
isn't complaining about it because they are making record profits.

                              {time}  2215

  We need to take a new approach. That approach is to engage Iran 
directly and to stop isolating them and to bring them to a peaceful 
resolution of the issues that are currently inflaming so much of the 
world. This is a time for us to take a new direction. I don't think 
that we are headed that way, but I think that when we are looking at 
renewal of a sanctions regime we ought to be talking about whether or 
not it is in the best interests of this country to take the direction 
we are taking.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am attaching an exchange of letters 
between  Chairman Hyde and Chairman Thomas concerning the bill H.R. 
5877. ``To amend the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996 to extend the 
authorities provided in such Act until September 29, 2006''.
                                      Committee on Ways and Means,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                    Washington, DC, July 26, 2006.
     Hon. Henry J. Hyde,
     Chairman, Committee on International Relations, Rayburn House 
         Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Hyde: I am writing regarding H.R. 5877, a 
     bill ``To amend the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996 to 
     extend the authorities provided in such Act until September 
     29, 2006,'' which is scheduled for floor consideration on 
     Wednesday, July 26, 2006.
       Because H.R. 5877 would amend the Iran and Libya Sanctions 
     Act of 1996 (ILSA) to have the effect of extending the 
     application of an import ban, it falls within the 
     jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means. However, in 
     order to expedite this legislation for floor consideration, 
     the Committee will forgo action on this bill. This is being 
     done with the understanding that this legislation is being 
     expedited in order to ensure that ILSA does not lapse while 
     the Congress is considering additional changes to ILSA such 
     as those contained in H.R. 282, the Iran Freedom Support Act, 
     which was passed by the House of Representatives on April 26, 
     2006. This action is also being done with the understanding 
     that it does not in any way prejudice the Committee with 
     respect to the appointment of conferees or its jurisdictional 
     prerogatives on H.R. 5877, H.R. 282, or similar legislation.
       I would appreciate your response to this letter, confirming 
     this understanding, and would ask that a copy of our exchange 
     of letters on this matter be included in the Congressional 
     Record during floor consideration.
           Best regards,
                                                      Bill Thomas,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

         Congress of the United States, Committee on International 
           Relations,
                                    Washington, DC, July 26, 2006.
     Hon. William M. Thomas,
     Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for your letter concerning 
     H.R. 5877, a bill ``To amend the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act 
     of 1996 to extend the authorities provided in such Act until 
     September 29, 2006,'' which is scheduled for floor 
     consideration on Wednesday, July 26, 2006.
       I concur that the underlying Iran and Libya Sanctions Act 
     (ILSA) contains provisions relating to imports, which fall 
     within the jurisdiction of your Committee, as does H.R. 5877, 
     which would extend the Act. I appreciate your willingness to 
     waive consideration of this legislation by your Committee in 
     order to ensure that ILSA does not lapse while the Congress 
     is considering additional changes to ILSA such as those 
     contained in H.R. 282, the Iran Freedom Support Act, which 
     was passed by the House of Representatives on April 26, 2006. 
     I also concur that your Committee's willingness to forego 
     consideration does not in any way prejudice it with respect 
     to the appointment of conferees or jurisdictional 
     prerogatives on H.R. 5877, H.R. 282, or similar legislation.
       As you have requested, I will place a copy of our exchange 
     of letters on this matter in the Congressional Record during 
     floor consideration.
       With best wishes,
           Sincerely,
                                                    Henry J. Hyde,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Mack). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5877.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________