Iran Sanctions Enabling Act of 2007

IRAN SANCTIONS ENABLING ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - July 30, 2007)

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Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this legislation, the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act of 2007 (H.R. 2347), which would authorize state and local governments to direct divestiture from and prevent investment in entities with investments of $20 million or more in Iran's energy sector.

As Iran continues to pursue its nuclear agenda--in defiance of UN sanctions and international pressure--the United States must leverage not only its diplomatic resources but its economic influence when it comes to Iran. Simply put, we must act aggressively to ensure that we are not providing Iran with money to develop nuclear weapons.

This legislation will help us do that.

Among other things, this bill would require the publication of entities, both inside and outside the United States, that have an investment of more than $20 million in Iran's energy sector. Any entity designated on this list could delay publication of its name if it demonstrates that it is taking steps to divest from Iran.

Furthermore, the bill provides a safe harbor for investment and pension fund managers from lawsuits alleging that divestment would lower a fund's profits.

Mr. Speaker, Iran's support for terrorist groups such as Hezbollah is well known and it is listed as a state sponsor of terrorism by our State Department.

In addition, the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has made repeated outrageous statements toward the United States and our ally, Israel, even calling in October 2005 for Israel to be ``wiped off the map.''

Given Iran's continued hostility and defiance of the international community, it is imperative that we use all the tools in our national security arsenal to attempt to change Iran's behavior. And, state-level divestment campaigns are an essential way for state officials to prevent retirement funds from helping Iran pursue nuclear weapons and fund terrorism.

Although U.S. companies have been barred from directly investing in Iran since 1996, there are investment avenues not covered by those restrictions. This bill would close some of the loopholes in previous legislation and executive orders by prohibiting public pension funds from investing in foreign companies that do more than $20 million in business in Iran's oil and gas sector.

Iran is already struggling with domestic instability, gas rationing and falling foreign investment. This legislation provides a useful diplomatic and economic tool to further push Iran toward complying with international pressure, both to stop its nuclear activities and to cease its sponsorship of terrorist groups.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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