House adds new sanctions against Iran

Congressional Quarterly:

The House on Tuesday passed a measure to impose tough new sanctions on Iran, including a ban on all imports and an expansion of curbs on exports to that country.

The bill (HR 1400), passed by 397-16, was a late addition to the schedule on the same day Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was to address the U.N. General Assembly in New York City.

Sponsored by Foreign Affairs Chairman Tom Lantos, D-Calif., it is the toughest in a series of measures the House has passed in recent months targeting Iran’s nuclear program and sponsorship of groups on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations.

The bill would strengthen sanctions President Bush signed into law in 2006 (PL 109-293) that have been waived since their initial enactment in 1996.

It would bar all Iranian imports, including carpets, to the United States and would expand sanctions on exports to Iran. It also would remove Bush’s ability to waive sanctions on corporations doing business with Iran’s energy industry.

The measure also would block U.S. nuclear cooperation with countries that assist Iran’s nuclear program and would decrease U.S. contributions to the World Bank by the same amount as the bank’s loans to Iran.

...

The wimp caucus added a provision saying that there was no authorization for force to effect the sanctions. In other words the Democrats want to stay with the passive aggressive approach. Meanwhile in the Senate Joe Lieberman and Joh Kyl got a sense of the Senate Resolution passed that labels the Quds force a terrorist organization.

The decibel level of anger at Iran is rising at the same times the libs are resisting taking effective action. They remind me of someone revving the engine while keeping their foot on the brake. Like the Clinton era Democrats they are big on bluffs but will do nothing when it is called.

Meanwhile the diplomatic channel has been described as giving futility a chance. Between futility and bluffs Iran keeps on trucking toward their nukes.