Punishing Iran And Libya
Congress is moving toward a five-year extension of sanctions on foreign companies that invest in Iran and Libya, countries accused by Republicans and Democrats alike as being deeply involved in world terrorism.
"It is vitally important for Congress to speak ... in support of maintaining a hard line against two of the world's most dangerous outlaw states," Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., a sponsor of the bill, said during debate Wednesday. "They're worthy of America's most supreme outrage."
Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., said Iran's support for terrorism continues unabated, and it is stepping up efforts to acquire nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
Libya, he noted, has fulfilled only one requirement of a U.N. Security Council resolution concerning the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people: it handed over two suspects for trial.
"Libya has not fulfilled the requirements to pay compensation to the families of the victims, to accept responsibility for the acts of its intelligence officers and to renounce fully international terrorism," Sarbanes said.
The current Iran and Libya Sanctions Act, made law in 1996, expires Aug. 5.
The Senate approved the measure by a 96-2 margin. Voting against the bill were Sens. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and Richard Lugar, R-Ind. Absent were Sens. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, and George Voinovich, R-Ohio.
The House planned to consider its version of the bill as early as Thursday.
The Bush administration sought to limit the extension to two years to give it more flexibility in foreign policy. The White House budget office reiterated that preference Wednesday. "Sanctions should be reviewed frequently to assess their effectiveness and continued suitability," an office statement said.
Sarbanes's response was that given the records of Iran and Libya, failure to extend sanctions for the full five years would be seen "as a sign of a lack of resolve by the United States."
Under the measure, the president has numerous sanctions he can impose on offending foreign companies. Among them are blocking the companies from exporting goods to the United States, selling to the U.S. government or obtaining more than $10 million a year in U.S. bank loans.
Both the Senate and House bills carry tougher sanctions on Libya. The existing law targets foreign companies that invest more than $40 million a year in Libya's energy production. That would be reduced to a more stringent $20 million, the same as the limit on investment in Iran.
"Extending sanctions by an additional five years will ensure that Iran and Libya will not be able to bankroll their terrorist activities and weapons of mass destruction programs with oil profits," said Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., a co-sponsor of the House bill.
Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, endorsed continuing sanctions for Iran despite some promising signs there. "It's up to Iran and its people as to what course they're going to folow," Gramm said, "whether they're going to be one of the responsible countries of the world or if they're going to support terrorism."
Many U.S. allies with companies that do energy business oppose the sanctions, and no company has faced sanctions since the law took effect in 1996. Yet Sarbanes and Lantos contended the law had been effective, saying even the Iranians admit seeing a reduction of international oil investment.
A dispute over a House measure devised by the Ways and Means Committee to address administration calls for a shorter term prompted GOP leaders to delay a vote scheduled last week.
That version would have enabled any House member, after the administration reported on the sanctions' effectiveness, to demand a quick House vote on revoking the sanctions, something that could have happened within months.
Supporters of a five-year extension balked, and the GOP leaders canceled the vote. The final House version discarded the right to demand a revocation vote.
By Carolyn Skorneck
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