[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 174 (Wednesday, December 2, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H8864-H8865]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
  REAFFIRMING STATES' RIGHTS TO IMPOSE ECONOMIC SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Roskam) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I introduced H. Con. Res. 100, a 
bipartisan resolution that reaffirms the rights of the 50 States to 
maintain economic sanctions against Iran.
  The Iran Sanctions Act of 2010 encourages and authorizes States to 
maintain such sanctions, which play a powerful role in preventing U.S. 
dollars from funding Iran's illicit activity, including its support for 
terrorism,

[[Page H8865]]

human rights violations, and imprisonment of innocent Americans.
  Thirty States, to date, Mr. Speaker, have imposed sanctions against 
Iran. Both Democrats and Republicans have worked at the State and local 
level to enact laws to ensure that State assets are not invested in and 
State contracts are not awarded to companies that do business with 
Iran.
  As long as Iran continues its outrageous activity abroad, it is our 
right and it is our duty to make sure that we are not complicit in 
funding its terrorism, its human rights abuses, and its other activity 
that is contrary to the U.S. national interests and global stability.
  Now, there is some ambiguity and some confusion about State sanctions 
that are authorized under the so-called Iran deal of this year. This 
legislation clarifies, it puts an exclamation point, and it reaffirms 
the legal right of States to maintain these sanctions as enacted into 
law under the 2010 statute until Iran ends its support of terrorism and 
reverses its abhorrent human rights violations.
  Please join my colleagues Representative Ted Deutch of Florida, 
Representative Dan Lipinski of Illinois, Representative Mike Pompeo of 
Kansas, Representative Brad Sherman of California, and Representative 
Lee Zeldin of New York, along with me, in this effort to ensure that 
the right of States to maintain these important sanctions against Iran 
prevails.
  We can ensure that States have this right and this authority from 
preventing their resources from funding Iranian terrorism and human 
rights abuses.

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