Public Policy

The House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-Calif.) and Senate Banking Committee Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) issued a joint statement that an agreement had been reached on new measures targeting Iran's energy sector with new economic sanctions:

“A month ago, we announced our intention to develop a powerful package of new sanctions against Iran that would substantially augment ongoing multilateral efforts by the U.N. Security Council and the European Union. Our agreement does just that ... If applied forcefully by the President, this act will bring strong new pressure to bear on Tehran in order to combat its proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, support for international terrorism, and gross human rights abuses.”

by Jason Poblete

Twelve United States Senators have signed a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton requesting that the State Department determine whether the government of Venezuela satisfies the statutory requirements to be listed as a state sponsor of terrorism.  In a press release issued on May 25, 2010, Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) said:  “It’s no secret to the American people that Venezuela wishes harm to the United States. What is a secret is how many more ties to terrorist organizations and State Sponsors of Terrorism does Venezuela need to be declared a State Sponsor of Terrorism.”  Currently there are four countries designated state sponsors of terrorism including Cuba, Iran, Sudan, and Syria.  The state sponsors designation is made pursuant to Arms Export Control Act (AECA), the Export Administration Act (EAR), and the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA).  Once a country has been listed it is subject to a series of economic sanctions including a ban on defense and dual use exports, foreign assistance, as well as other restrictions on bilateral trade.