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Congressman Deutch introduces legislation to strengthen Iran sanctions

Congressman Ted Deutch (D-FL), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced the Iran Transparency and Accountability Act of 2010 (ITA), along with Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the Middle East Subcommittee Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Rep. Ron Klein (D-FL), member of the Financial Services and Foreign Affairs committees, and Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) Ranking Member of the Middle East Subcommittee.

Congressman Deutch's legislation builds on the recently-enacted Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (CISADA) by requiring companies to declare publicly sanctionable investments in Iran in their quarterly and annual reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). CISADA has already had major success putting real economic pressure on the Iranian regime and the Deutch legislation would complement and enhance the ability of CISADA to target and uncover companies doing business in Iran.

"This legislation will substantially increase pressure on companies doing business in Iran, and, in turn, on the Iranian regime. Americans should have the right to know if their investment dollars are going to a regime that threatens our national security, poses an existential threat to our ally Israel, and risks igniting a nuclear-arms race in the Middle East," said Congressman Deutch. "By mandating self-disclosure and making this information available to the public through SEC filings, we allow not just our government, but the American people, the opportunity to ensure their investment dollars are not actively undermining our national security priorities."

Former Ambassador Mark Wallace President of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) said today, “UANI applauds Congressman Deutch for introducing the Iran Transparency and Accountability Act. It is time for companies to come clean about their inappropriate business in Iran, and when they do the American people will hold them accountable. Under this legislation and action by the SEC, companies will for the first time be obligated to disclose their Iran business in their public regulatory filings. We will now know which companies are profiting at the expense of American national security. This legislation is a wake-up call to those corporations that continue to do business in Iran.”

In addition to requiring sanctionable investments in Iran to be disclosed to the SEC in annual and quarterly reports, the ITA would require the President to investigate any self-disclosures by companies that could lead to sanctions, and require the disclosure of any business with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and its affiliates or any Iranian bank. It also requires the SEC to create a public list by posting such compiled information on a dedicated page on its website, and transmit that information directly to the Secretary of State, Secretary of Treasury, the General Services Administration, and the appropriate Congressional Committees.

Deutch also sent a letter to SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro today urging the SEC to either clarify or strengthen SEC reporting requirements for companies doing material business in Iran, or create new reporting requirements that would force companies to disclose ties to Iran -- effectively making this information available to the American public for the first time. Current SEC regulations have allowed companies to claim their business dealings in Iran were not “material” and therefore, not required to be reported.

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