I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2194 

To amend the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 to enhance United States diplomatic efforts with respect to Iran by expanding economic sanctions 

against Iran. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 30, 2009 

Mr. BERMAN (for himself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. BURTON

of Indiana, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. ANDREWS, and Mr. KIRK) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, 

Oversight and Government Reform, and Ways and Means, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 to enhance United 

States diplomatic efforts with respect to Iran by expanding economic sanctions against Iran. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Iran Refined Petro5 leum Sanctions Act of 2009’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The illicit nuclear activities of the Govern4 ment of Iran—combined with its development of un5 conventional weapons and ballistic missiles, and sup6 port for international terrorism—represent a serious 

7 threat to the security of the United States and U.S. 

8 allies in Europe, the Middle East, and around the 

9 world. 

10 (2) The United States and other responsible na11 tions have a vital interest in working together to 

12 prevent the Government of Iran from acquiring a 

13 nuclear weapons capability. 

14 (3) The International Atomic Energy Agency 

15 has repeatedly called attention to Iran’s unlawful 

16 nuclear activities, and, as a result, the United Na17 tions Security Council has adopted a range of sanc18 tions designed to encourage the Government of Iran 

19 to cease those activities and comply with its obliga20 tions under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of 

21 Nuclear Weapons (commonly known as the ‘‘Nuclear 

22 Non-Proliferation Treaty’’). 

23 (4) As a presidential candidate, then-Senator 

24 Obama stated that additional sanctions, especially 

25 those targeting Iran’s dependence on imported reVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:42 May 02, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2194.IH H2194

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1 fined petroleum, may help to persuade the Govern2 ment of Iran to abandon its illicit nuclear activities. 

3 (5) On October 7, 2008, then-Senator Obama 

4 stated, ‘‘Iran right now imports gasoline, even 

5 though it’s an oil producer, because its oil infra6 structure has broken down. If we can prevent them 

7 from importing the gasoline that they need and the 

8 refined petroleum products, that starts changing 

9 their cost-benefit analysis. That starts putting the 

10 squeeze on them.’’. 

11 (6) On June 4, 2008, then-Senator Obama 

12 stated, ‘‘We should work with Europe, Japan, and 

13 the Gulf states to find every avenue outside the U.N. 

14 to isolate the Iranian regime—from cutting off loan 

15 guarantees and expanding financial sanctions, to 

16 banning the export of refined petroleum to Iran.’’. 

17 (7) Major European allies, including the United 

18 Kingdom, France, and Germany, have advocated 

19 that sanctions be significantly toughened should 

20 international diplomatic efforts fail to achieve 

21 verifiable suspension of Iran’s uranium enrichment 

22 program and an end to its nuclear weapons program 

23 and other illicit nuclear activities. 

24 (8) The serious and urgent nature of the threat 

25 from Iran demands that the United States work toVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:42 May 02, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2194.IH H2194

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1 gether with U.S. allies to do everything possible— 

2 diplomatically, politically, and economically—to pre3 vent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capa4 bility. 

5 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 

6 Congress that— 

7 (1) international diplomatic efforts to address 

8 Iran’s illicit nuclear efforts, unconventional and bal9 listic missile development programs, and support for 

10 international terrorism are more likely to be effective 

11 if the President is empowered with the explicit au12 thority to impose additional sanctions on the Gov13 ernment of Iran; 

14 (2) the concerns of the United States regarding 

15 Iran are strictly the result of the actions of the Gov16 ernment of Iran; and 

17 (3) the people of the United States— 

18 (A) have feelings of friendship for the peo19 ple of Iran; 

20 (B) regret that developments in recent dec21 ades have created impediments to that friend22 ship; and 

23 (C) hold the people of Iran, their culture, 

24 and their ancient and rich history in the highest 

25 esteem. 


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1 (c) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It should be the policy 

2 of the United States to— 

3 (1) support international diplomatic efforts to 

4 end Iran’s uranium enrichment program and its nu5 clear weapons program; 

6 (2) encourage foreign governments to direct 

7 state-owned entities to cease all investment in, and 

8 support of, Iran’s energy sector and all exports of 

9 refined petroleum products to Iran; 

10 (3) encourage foreign governments to require 

11 private entities based in their territories to cease all 

12 investment in, and support of, Iran’s energy sector 

13 and all exports of refined petroleum products to 

14 Iran; 

15 (4) impose sanctions on the Central Bank of 

16 Iran and any other Iranian bank or financial institu17 tion engaged in proliferation activities or support of 

18 terrorist groups; and 

19 (5) work with the allies of the United States to 

20 take appropriate measures to protect the inter21 national financial system from deceptive and illicit 

22 practices by Iranian banks and financial institutions 

23 involved in proliferation activities or support of ter24 rorist groups. 


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1 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE IRAN SANCTIONS ACT OF 

2 1996. 

3 (a) EXPANSION OF SANCTIONS.—Section 5(a) of the 

4 Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is 

5 amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(a) SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE DEVELOP7 MENT OF PETROLEUM RESOURCES OF IRAN AND EXPOR8 TATION OF REFINED PETROLEUM TO IRAN.— 

9 ‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT OF PETROLEUM RE10 SOURCES OF IRAN.— 

11 ‘‘(A) INVESTMENT.—Except as provided in 

12 subsection (f), the President shall impose 2 or 

13 more of the sanctions described in paragraphs 

14 (1) through (6) of section 6(a) if the President 

15 determines that a person has, with actual 

16 knowledge, on or after the date of the enact17 ment of this Act, made an investment of 

18 $20,000,000 or more (or any combination of in19 vestments of at least $5,000,000 each, which in 

20 the aggregate equals or exceeds $20,000,000 in 

21 any 12-month period), that directly and signifi22 cantly contributed to the enhancement of Iran’s 

23 ability to develop petroleum resources of Iran. 

24 ‘‘(B) PRODUCTION OF REFINED PETRO25 LEUM RESOURCES.—Except as provided in sub26 section (f), the President shall impose the sancVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:42 May 02, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2194.IH H2194

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1 tions described in section 6(b) (in addition to 

2 any sanctions imposed under subparagraph (A)) 

3 if the President determines that a person has, 

4 with actual knowledge, on or after the date of 

5 the enactment of the Iran Refined Petroleum 

6 Sanctions Act of 2009, sold, leased, or provided 

7 to Iran any goods, services, technology, infor8 mation, or support that would allow Iran to 

9 maintain or expand its domestic production of 

10 refined petroleum resources, including any as11 sistance in refinery construction, modernization, 

12 or repair. 

13 ‘‘(2) EXPORTATION OF REFINED PETROLEUM

14 RESOURCES TO IRAN.—Except as provided in sub15 section (f), the President shall impose the sanctions 

16 described in section 6(b) if the President determines 

17 that a person has, with actual knowledge, on or after 

18 the date of the enactment of the Iran Refined Petro19 leum Sanctions Act of 2009, provided Iran with re20 fined petroleum resources or engaged in any activity 

21 that could contribute to the enhancement of Iran’s 

22 ability to import refined petroleum resources, includ23 ing— 

24 ‘‘(A) providing ships or shipping services 

25 to deliver refined petroleum resources to Iran; 


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1 ‘‘(B) underwriting or otherwise providing 

2 insurance or reinsurance for such activity; or 

3 ‘‘(C) financing or brokering such activity.’’. 

4 (b) DESCRIPTION OF SANCTIONS.—Section 6 of such 

5 Act is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘The sanctions to be imposed on 

7 a sanctioned person under section 5 are as follows:’’ 

8 and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The sanctions to be imposed on 

10 a sanctioned person under subsections (a)(1)(A) and (b) 

11 of section 5 are as follows:’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL SANCTIONS.—The sanctions to be 

14 imposed on a sanctioned person under paragraphs (1)(B) 

15 and (2) of section 5(a) are as follows: 

16 ‘‘(1) FOREIGN EXCHANGE.—The President 

17 shall, under such regulations as the President may 

18 prescribe, prohibit any transactions in foreign ex19 change by the sanctioned person. 

20 ‘‘(2) BANKING TRANSACTIONS.—The President 

21 shall, under such regulations as the President may 

22 prescribe, prohibit any transfers of credit or pay23 ments between, by, through, or to any financial in24 stitution, to the extent that such transfers or pay25 ments involve any interest of the sanctioned person. 


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1 ‘‘(3) PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS.—The Presi2 dent shall, under such regulations as the President 

3 may prescribe, prohibit any acquisition, holding, 

4 withholding, use, transfer, withdrawal, transpor5 tation, importation, or exportation of, dealing in, or 

6 exercising any right, power, or privilege with respect 

7 to, or transactions involving, any property in which 

8 the sanctioned person has any interest by any per9 son, or with respect to any property, subject to the 

10 jurisdiction of the United States.’’. 

11 (c) PRESIDENTIAL WAIVER.—Section 9(c)(2) of such 

12 Act is amended by amending subparagraph (C) to read 

13 as follows: 

14 ‘‘(C) an estimate of the significance of the 

15 provision of the items described in paragraph 

16 (1) or (2) of section 5(a) or section 5(b) to 

17 Iran’s ability to develop its petroleum resources, 

18 to maintain or expand its domestic production 

19 of refined petroleum resources, to import re20 fined petroleum resources, or to develop its 

21 weapons of mass destruction or other military 

22 capabilities (as the case may be); and’’. 

23 (d) STRENGTHENING OF WAIVER AUTHORITY AND

24 SANCTIONS IMPLEMENTATION.— 


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1 (1) INVESTIGATIONS.—Section 4(f) of the Iran 

2 Sanctions Act of 1996 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is 

3 amended— 

4 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘should initiate’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘shall immediately initiate’’; 

7 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or 5(b)’’ after ‘‘sec8 tion 5(a)’’; and 

9 (iii) by striking ‘‘as described in such 

10 section’’ and inserting ‘‘as described in sec11 tion 5(a)(1) or other activity described in 

12 section 5(a)(2) or 5(b) (as the case may 

13 be)’’; 

14 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘, pursu15 ant to section 5(a), if a person has engaged in 

16 investment activity in Iran as described in such 

17 section’’ and inserting ‘‘, pursuant to section 

18 5(a) or (b) (as the case may be), if a person 

19 has engaged in investment activity in Iran as 

20 described in section 5(a)(1) or other activity de21 scribed in section 5(a)(2) or 5(b) (as the case 

22 may be)’’; and 

23 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

24 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION OF CREDIBLE INFORMA2 TION.—For the purposes of this subsection, the term 

3 ‘credible information’ means public or classified in4 formation or reporting supported by other substan5 tiating evidence.’’. 

6 (2) EXCEPTION FOR PROLIFERATION SECURITY

7 INITIATIVE.—Section 5(f) of the Iran Sanctions Act 

8 of 1996 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended— 

9 (A) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

10 the end; 

11 (B) in paragraph (7), by striking the pe12 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

13 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

14 paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(8) if the President determines in writing that 

16 the person to which the sanctions would otherwise be 

17 applied is— 

18 ‘‘(A) a citizen or resident of a country that 

19 is a participant in the Proliferation Security 

20 Initiative; or 

21 ‘‘(B) a foreign person that is organized 

22 under the laws of a country described in sub23 paragraph (A) and is a subsidiary of a United 

24 States person.’’. 


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1 (3) GENERAL WAIVER AUTHORITY.—Section 

2 9(c)(1) of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (50 

3 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended by striking ‘‘impor4 tant to the national interest of the United States’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘vital to the national security interest 

6 of the United States’’. 

7 (4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The amend8 ments made by this subsection shall not be con9 strued to affect any exercise of the authority of sec10 tion 4(f) or section 9(c) of the Iran Sanctions Act 

11 of 1996 as in effect on the day before the date of 

12 the enactment of this Act. 

13 (e) REPORTS ON UNITED STATES EFFORTS TO CUR14 TAIL CERTAIN BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS RELATING TO

15 IRAN.—Section 10 of such Act is amended by adding at 

16 the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(d) REPORTS ON CERTAIN BUSINESS TRANS18 ACTIONS RELATING TO IRAN.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

20 after the date of the enactment of the Iran Refined 

21 Petroleum Sanctions Act of 2009, and every 6 

22 months thereafter, the President shall submit a re23 port to the appropriate congressional committees re24 garding any person who has— 


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1 ‘‘(A) provided Iran with refined petroleum 

2 resources; 

3 ‘‘(B) sold, leased, or provided to Iran any 

4 goods, services, or technology that would allow 

5 Iran to maintain or expand its domestic produc6 tion of refined petroleum resources; or 

7 ‘‘(C) engaged in any activity that could 

8 contribute to the enhancement of Iran’s ability 

9 to import refined petroleum resources. 

10 ‘‘(2) DESCRIPTION.—For each activity set forth 

11 in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (1), 

12 the President shall provide a complete and detailed 

13 description of such activity, including— 

14 ‘‘(A) the date or dates of such activity; 

15 ‘‘(B) the name of any persons who partici16 pated or invested in or facilitated such activity; 

17 ‘‘(C) the United States domiciliary of the 

18 persons referred to in subparagraph (B); 

19 ‘‘(D) any Federal Government contracts to 

20 which the persons referred to in subparagraph 

21 (B) are parties; and 

22 ‘‘(E) the steps taken by the United States 

23 to respond to such activity. 

24 ‘‘(3) FORM OF REPORTS; PUBLICATION.—The 

25 reports required under this subsection shall be— 


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1 ‘‘(A) submitted in unclassified form, but 

2 may contain a classified annex; and 

3 ‘‘(B) published in the Federal Register.’’. 

4 (f) CLARIFICATION AND EXPANSION OF DEFINI5 TIONS.—Section 14 of such Act is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (13)(B)— 

7 (A) by inserting ‘‘financial institution, in8 surer, underwriter, guarantor, any other busi9 ness organization, including any foreign sub10 sidiary, parent, or affiliate of such a business 

11 organization,’’ after ‘‘trust,’’; and 

12 (B) by inserting ‘‘, such as an export cred13 it agency’’ before the semicolon at the end; and 

14 (2) by amending paragraph (14) to read as fol15 lows: 

16 ‘‘(14) PETROLEUM RESOURCES.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘petroleum 

18 resources’ includes petroleum, petroleum by19 products, oil or liquefied natural gas, oil or liq20 uefied natural gas tankers, and products used 

21 to construct or maintain pipelines used to 

22 transport oil or compressed or liquefied natural 

23 gas. 

24 ‘‘(B) PETROLEUM BY-PRODUCTS.—The 

25 term ‘petroleum by-products’ means gasoline, 


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1 kerosene, distillates, propane or butane gas, die2 sel fuel, residual fuel oil, and other goods classi3 fied in headings 2709 and 2710 of the Har4 monized Tariff Schedule of the United States.’’. 

5 (g) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

6 (1) MULTILATERAL REGIME.—Section 4 of 

7 such Act is amended— 

8 (A) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘(in 

9 addition to that provided in subsection (d))’’; 

10 and 

11 (B) by striking subsection (d) and redesig12 nating subsections (e) and (f) as subsections (d) 

13 and (e), respectively. 

14 (2) IMPOSITIONS OF SANCTIONS.—Section 5(b) 

15 of such Act is amended by striking ‘‘section 6’’ and 

16 inserting ‘‘section 6(a)’’. 

Æ 


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