Rubio Joins Effort To Protect States' Right To Sanction Iran

Statement

U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) today introduced legislation, S.Con.Res. 26‎, to reaffirm congressional support for continued sanctions by state and local governments in the U.S. against Iran's sponsorship of terrorism, human rights violations, and other illicit behavior.‎

"As Speaker of the Florida House, I led our state's push to stand with Israel by requiring the Florida pension program to divest from companies linked to the terrorist regime in Iran," Rubio said. "As the first state to enact such legislation, Florida pioneered what became a national effort to divest from entities with any link to the brutal Iranian regime, denying it access to more money that would be used to develop nuclear weapons, sponsor terrorism and commit human rights abuses.

"President Obama's fundamentally flawed nuclear deal potentially jeopardizes the strong stances states have taken to divest from Iran," added Rubio. "This resolution makes clear that Congress wants to give states the opportunity to take a stand and send the message that this is not Florida's, or any other state's deal with Iran; it's just the president's flawed deal. With this resolution, states will be able to stop their pension funds from filling Tehran's coffers."

The concurrent resolution reiterates that U.S. law authorizes state and local governments to enact sanctions against Iran's illicit activities and entities that do business with Iran, and reaffirms that the nuclear deal with Iran does not affect the legal authority of states and local governments to enact sanctions against Iran's sponsorship of terrorism and human rights violations.

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