<div class="gmail_quote"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; "><br></span></div><div class="gmail_quote"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; ">CQ
TODAY ONLINE NEWS – FOREIGN POLICY</span><br><div style="background-color:#fff"><div><div><div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">
May 25, 2010 – 12:06 p.m.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Berman
Puts Off Action on Iran Sanctions Bill</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">By
Emily Cadei, CQ Staff</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Congress will
not push forward with a final vote on legislation sanctioning companies doing
business with Iran until after the Memorial Day recess, House Foreign Affairs
Committee Chairman Howard L. Berman, D-Calif., said Tuesday.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The delay until
at least mid-June is a nod to U.S. progress on a new round of multilateral
sanctions in the U.N. Security Council. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham
Clinton announced last week that the United States had secured a deal on
sanctions language among the five permanent Security Council members and
Germany.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“We are
going to hold off for a few weeks on moving the bill finally because we want to
get that Security Council resolution and see what the E.U. does with their June
16 meeting,” said Berman, referring to the upcoming meeting of the
European Council, which is composed of the heads of state or government of
European Union member states. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">House and Senate
conferees are close to finalizing language on the legislation. “We would
have moved already this week if it weren’t for” the deal the United
States struck in the United Nations, said Berman, whose committee, along with
the Senate Banking Committee, has taken the lead on reconciling the House- and
Senate-passed bills (HR 2194, S 2799).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The move is
likely to face some blowback from antsy members of Congress, who have been
urging tougher action on Iran for the last several months. The legislation,
passed by large bipartisan majorities in both chambers, would enact an
extensive bilateral sanctions regime on companies that do business in
Iran’s energy sector.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Berman, however,
said he expects members will understand the desire to wait a bit longer.
“I think, generally, most people who think about it see the wisdom of not
taking it up now, of passing a strong bill after we’ve given the Security
Council” room to move forward. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">But he added
that Congress was not prepared to wait around forever for U.N. action.
“If it doesn’t play out quickly, we’re going ahead,”
said Berman. “We’re doing this before the July Fourth
recess.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Source:
<b>CQ Today Online News </b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; "> </span></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div><br>-- <br>Robert Naiman<br>Policy Director<br>Just Foreign Policy<br>
<a href="http://www.justforeignpolicy.org">www.justforeignpolicy.org</a><br><a href="mailto:naiman@justforeignpolicy.org">naiman@justforeignpolicy.org</a><br><br>Urge Congress to Support a Timetable for Military Withdrawal from Afghanistan<br>
<a href="http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern">http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern</a><br><br> <br>
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