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APN Legislative Round-Up for the Weeks Ending November 13 & 20, 2009

1.  Bills and Resolutions
2.  Levin Statement on S. Res. 355

1.  BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS
 
(IRAN) S. 2799:  Introduced 11/19/09 by Sen. Dodd (D-CT) "An original bill to expand the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, to provide for the divestment of assets in Iran by State and local governments and other entities, to identify locations of concern with respect to transshipment, reexportation, or diversion of certain sensitive items to Iran, and for other purposes."  This is the omnibus Iran Sanctions bill marked up in the Banking Committee on 10/29/09 - as reported in the Round-Up.  The bill has now been reported out of Committee (Report number 111-99) and placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar; given the very crowded Senate calendar for the remainder of the year, Senate sources report that the bill is not expected to move until the beginning of next year, at the earliest.  Neither the bill text nor the text of the report is available publicly online as of this writing.
 
(IRAN)  S. Res. 355:  Introduced 11/19/09 by Sen. Levin (D-MI) and 6 cosponsors, "A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has systematically violated its obligations to uphold human rights provided for under its constitution and international law."  Passed by the Senate 11/19/09 by unanimous consent.  APN strongly supports this resolution.
 
(IRAN)  H.Con. Res. 209: Introduced 11/5/09 by Rep. Fortenberry (R-NE), Recognizing the 30th anniversary of the Iranian hostage crisis, during which 52 United States citizens were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981, and for other purposes."  Passed under suspension of the rules 11/7/09 by voice vote.
 
(ARAB LEAGUE BOYCOTT)  HR 4046: Introduced 11/6/09 by Rep. Berkley (D-NV) and 9 cosponsors, "To enhance the reporting requirements on the status of the Arab League trade boycott of Israel and other trade boycotts of Israel."   Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.   The primary cosponsors issued a press release announcing the bill.  For background on the boycott and its current impact (or lack thereof), see the most recent Congressional Research Report on the topic (August 2008).
 
(JORDAN) H. Res. 833: Introduced 10/14/09 by Rep. Schiff (D-CA) and having 34 cosponsors, "Honoring the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the 10th anniversary of the accession to the throne of His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein, and for other purposes."  Passed under suspension of the roles 11/7/09 by voice vote.
 
(YEMEN) S. Res. 341:  Introduced 11/5/09 by Sen. Cardin (D-MD) and 2 cosponsors, "A resolution supporting peace, security, and innocent civilians affected by conflict in Yemen." 11/17/09 Ordered reported out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee without amendment favorably; 11/18/09 placed on Senate Legislative Calendar.
 
2.  LEVIN STATEMENT ON S. RES. 355
 
On 11/19/09, Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) delivered the following statement on the Senate floor in support of S. Res. 355.  APN strongly supports S. Res. 355 and commends the Senate for its swift passage.
 
"Mr. President, recent events have made abundantly clear that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is failing, and failing badly, to live up to its own professed ideals and its international commitments to protect the human rights of its citizens and others. I urge my colleagues to join with me in supporting a resolution, S. Res. 355, submitted today, condemning Iran's deplorable human rights record, calling for an immediate release of those wrongfully imprisoned in violation of their rights, and urging the restoration of meaningful human rights to all of Iran's citizens.
 
"Iran's 1979 constitution, the result of a revolution against years of political and human-rights abuses by the regime of the Shah, guarantees fundamental rights and freedoms. Moreover, Iran is a signatory to four major human rights treaties. And yet its shameful record of executions that contravene international standards; of repression of the rights of women and minorities, including religious minorities; of outrageous attacks on the rights of peaceful assembly and protest; and of unwarranted arrest and detention of foreigners, including Americans, all make a mockery of these commitments.
 
"Just last week, the Iranian Government again demonstrated its contempt for human rights and the rule of law when it announced it would pursue espionage charges against three young Americans who crossed Iran's border with Iraq. These allegations are just the latest telling example on a long list of abuses.
 
"American Robert Levinson has been missing in Iran for more than two years, during which the Iranian regime has denied having any information on his whereabouts and has blocked international attempts to discover his fate. In January 2009, the Iranian Government jailed Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi and charged and convicted her of espionage after a one-hour show trial that mocked even the most basic standards of due process and law, and then sentenced her to eight years in prison before releasing her a few months later. Esha Momeni, a student at California State University, Northridge, was imprisoned last fall for her peaceful activities in support of women's rights in Iran. The regime's abuses have even touched Nobel peace prize winner Shrin Ebadi, whose Center for Defenders of Human Rights was forced to close by the government in December 2008.
 
"None of these recent abuses, however, as deplorable as they are, have shocked the conscience of the world so severely as the Iranian Government's actions in response to this year's disputed presidential elections. Prompted by justifiable concern that their will had been thwarted in a rigged election, thousands of Iranian citizens took to the streets, firmly but peacefully exercising their rights and demanding the democracy their government purports to embody. The regime's response was to launch violent, heavy-handed attacks against these peaceful protestors, using government security forces and paramilitary militias under government control to repress the legitimate expression of a valid grievance. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reports that this violence resulted in at least a dozen deaths, and hundreds of injuries.
 
"In the aftermath, the Iranian Government imprisoned dozens of its citizens and conducted a mass trial of more 100 of them, many of whom bore clear signs of physical abuse. The government sentenced at least four of these prisoners to death on the basis of dubious confessions, likely produced under duress and abuse.
 
"It is proper and appropriate for the Senate to make clear its determination that these acts violate international human rights standards, Iran's own professed commitments, and common decency. The resolution introduced today would record the Senate's condemnation of Iran's woeful human rights record; remind the Iranian government of its domestic and international commitments to human rights; call for the immediate release of all those held for their peaceful exercise of rights of free expression, assembly and association; and urge Iran to extend full legal rights to those imprisoned. It calls for the Iranian Government to guarantee humane treatment of those in detention; to halt immediately state-sanctioned violence against its own citizens; to allow unrestricted communication and access to information; and to respect the rights of the Iranian people to free speech, a free press, free expression of religion, freedom of association, and freedom of assembly.
 
"It is a tragic irony that the government perpetrating these deplorable acts of violence and abuse came to power three decades ago because the Iranian people rejected the abuses and violence of a previous regime. Now following in the repressive footsteps of that previous regime, the current Iranian Government has been widely condemned by the community of nations. Passage of this resolution would add the U.S. Senate's loud and clear voice of condemnation to the many voices inside Iran, and out, calling for the restoration of basic human rights for the Iranian people."