[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 71 (Monday, May 23, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3222-S3223]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     REPORT RELATIVE TO THE ISSUANCE OF AN EXECUTIVE ORDER TO TAKE 
  ADDITIONAL STEPS WITH RESPECT TO THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY ORIGINALLY 
  DECLARED ON MARCH 15, 1995 IN EXECUTIVE ORDER 12957 WITH RESPECT TO 
                               IRAN--PM 9

  The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message 
from the President of the United States, together with an accompanying 
report; which was referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
Urban Affairs:

To the Congress of the United States:
  Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), I hereby report that I have issued an 
Executive Order (the ``order'') that takes additional steps with 
respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12957 of 
March 15, 1995, and implements the existing statutory requirements of 
the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-172) (50 U.S.C. 1701 
note) (ISA), as amended by, inter alia, the Comprehensive Iran 
Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-
195) (CISADA).
  In Executive Order 12957, the President found that the actions and 
policies of the Government of Iran threaten the national security, 
foreign policy, and economy of the United States. To deal with that 
threat, the President in Executive Order 12957 declared a national 
emergency and imposed prohibitions on certain transactions with respect 
to the development of Iranian petroleum resources. To further respond 
to that threat, Executive Order 12959 of May 6, 1995, imposed 
comprehensive trade and financial sanctions on Iran. Executive Order 
13059 of August 19, 1997, consolidated and clarified the previous 
orders. To take additional steps

[[Page S3223]]

with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 
12957 and to implement section 105(a) of CISADA, I issued Executive 
Order 13553 on September 28, 2010, to impose sanctions on officials of 
the Government of Iran and other persons acting on behalf of the 
Government of Iran determined to be responsible for or complicit in 
certain serious human rights abuses.
  In CISADA, which I signed into law on July 1, 2010, the Congress 
found that the illicit nuclear activities of the Government of Iran, 
along with its development of unconventional weapons and ballistic 
missiles and its support for international terrorism, threaten the 
security of the United States. To address the potential connection 
between Iran's illicit nuclear program and its energy sector, CISADA 
amended ISA to expand the types of activities that are sanctionable 
under that Act. ISA now requires that sanctions be imposed or waived 
for persons that are determined to have made certain investments in 
Iran's energy sector or to have engaged in certain activities relating 
to Iran's refined petroleum sector. In addition to expanding the types 
of sanctionable energy-related activities, CISADA added new sanctions 
that can be imposed pursuant to ISA.
  This order is intended to implement the statutory requirements of 
ISA. Certain ISA sanctions require action by the private sector, and 
the order will further the implementation of those ISA sanctions by 
providing authority under IEEPA to the Secretary of the Treasury to 
take certain actions with respect to those sanctions. The order states 
that the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary 
of State, shall take the following actions necessary to implement the 
sanctions selected, imposed, and maintained on a person by the 
President or by the Secretary of State, pursuant to authority that I 
have delegated:
  with respect to section 6(a)(3) of ISA, prohibit any United States 
financial institution from making loans or providing credits to the 
person consistent with section 6(a)(3) of ISA;
  with respect to section 6(a)(6) of ISA, prohibit any transactions in 
foreign exchange that are subject to the jurisdiction of the United 
States and in which the person has any interest;
  with respect to section 6(a)(7) of ISA, prohibit any transfers of 
credit or payments between financial institutions or by, through, or to 
any financial institution, to the extent that such transfers or 
payments are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and 
involve any interest of the person;
  with respect to section 6(a)(8) of ISA, block all property and 
interests in property that are in the United States, that come within 
the United States, or that are or come within the possession or control 
of any United States person, including any overseas branch, of the 
person, and provide that such property and interests in property may 
not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in; 
or
  with respect to section 6(a)(9) of ISA, restrict or prohibit imports 
of goods, technology, or services, directly or indirectly, into the 
United States from the person.
  I have delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury the authority, in 
consultation with the Secretary of State, to take such actions, 
including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all 
powers granted to the President by IEEPA and the relevant provisions of 
ISA, and to employ all powers granted to the United States Government 
by the relevant provision of ISA as may be necessary to carry out the 
purposes of the order. All executive agencies of the United States 
Government are directed to take all appropriate measures within their 
authority to carry out the provisions of the order.
  I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued.
                                                        Barack Obama.  
The White House, May 23, 2011.

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