I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3922 

To ensure that companies operating in the United States that receive United 

States Government funds are not conducting business in Iran, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 23, 2009 

Mr. KLEIN of Florida (for himself, Mr. MICA, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. PENCE, Mr. 

PETERS, Mr. KIRK, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. 

SCHOCK, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. LINDER, Mr. PATRICK J. 

MURPHY of Pennsylvania, Mr. HALL of New York, Mr. MACK, Mr. 

CROWLEY, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, Mr. INGLIS, 

Mr. KAGEN, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. SHULER, Mr. CARNEY, Mr. 

LANCE, Mr. ISRAEL, Ms. KILROY, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. 

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. HIMES, Mr. WEINER, and Mr. GUTIERREZ) 

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

Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees 

on Financial Services and Foreign Affairs, 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 ensure that companies operating in the United States 

that receive United States Government funds are not 

conducting business in Iran, and for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Accountability for 

3 Business Choices in Iran Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress makes the following findings: 

6 (1) The Islamic Republic of Iran is a party to 

7 the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear 

8 Weapons (NPT) and a member of the International 

9 Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 

10 (2) Since 1987, successive United States ad11 ministrations have issued executive orders to ban im12 ports of Iranian-origin goods and services, participa13 tion of United States persons or entities in the de14 velopment of Iran’s energy sector and investment by 

15 and in Iranian banks in order to address the un16 usual and extraordinary threat to the national secu17 rity, foreign policy and economy of the United 

18 States posed by an Iranian nuclear weapons pro19 gram. 

20 (3) On August 5, 1996, the Iran and Libya 

21 Sanctions Act was signed into law. In 2006, the title 

22 of this law was changed to the Iran Sanctions Act 

23 (ISA). The ISA notes that ‘‘the efforts of the Gov24 ernment of Iran to acquire weapons of mass destruc25 tion and the means to deliver them and its support 

26 of acts of international terrorism endanger the naVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:03 Oct 23, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3922.IH H3922

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1 tional security and foreign policy interests of the 

2 United States and those countries with which the 

3 United States shares common strategic and foreign 

4 policy objectives,’’ and therefore requires the Presi5 dent to sanction United States and foreign compa6 nies if the President determines that such companies 

7 have invested in Iran’s petroleum or natural gas sec8 tors. 

9 (4) On March 14, 2000, the Iran Nonprolifera10 tion Act was signed into law, ‘‘to provide for the ap11 plication of measures to foreign persons who trans12 fer to Iran certain goods, services, or technology, 

13 and for other purposes.’’. 

14 (5) On September 30, 2006, the Iran Freedom 

15 Support Act (IFSA) was signed into law ‘‘to hold 

16 the current regime in Iran accountable for its 

17 threatening behavior’’ and recommended that the 

18 President initiate investigations upon the receipt of 

19 credible information that a United States or foreign 

20 person is investing in Iran’s petroleum or natural 

21 gas sector in violation of the ISA. The IFSA ex22 tended the ISA until December 31, 2011. 

23 (6) In response to its ‘‘serious concern’’ over 

24 Iran’s nuclear program, the United Nations Security 

25 Council (UNSC) has passed several resolutions callVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:03 Oct 23, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3922.IH H3922

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1 ing on Iran to halt its uranium enrichment and re2 processing activities and instituting rounds of sanc3 tions on Iran, taking all necessary measures to pre4 vent the supply of certain goods or technologies that 

5 could contribute to Iran’s uranium enrichment, re6 processing, or heavy water-related activities, or to 

7 the development of a nuclear weapon. 

8 (7) Iran is in violation of these UNSC resolu9 tions. 

10 (8) Effective November 10, 2008, the Depart11 ment of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets 

12 Control (OFAC) revoked authorization for ‘‘U-turn’’ 

13 transfers involving Iran. As of that date, United 

14 States depository institutions are no longer author15 ized to process transfers involving Iran that origi16 nate and end with non-Iranian foreign banks. 

17 (9) According to a June 5, 2009, IAEA report, 

18 Iran ‘‘has not suspended its enrichment related ac19 tivities or its work on heavy water related projects 

20 as required by the Security Council,’’ nor has Iran 

21 ‘‘cooperated with the [IAEA] in connection with the 

22 remaining issues which give rise to concerns and 

23 which need to be clarified to exclude the possibility 

24 of military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear pro25 gramme.’’. 


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1 (10) On September 25, 2009, President 

2 Obama, British Prime Minister Brown, and French 

3 President Sarkozy revealed that Iran has been cov4 ertly enriching uranium in Qom, Iran. 

5 (11) Iran had concealed the existence and pur6 pose of the Qom facility, and had not disclosed the 

7 Qom enrichment facility to the IAEA until Sep8 tember 21, 2009. 

9 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

10 It is the sense of Congress that— 

11 (1) the illicit nuclear activities of the Govern12 ment of Iran—combined with its development of un13 conventional weapons and ballistic missiles, and sup14 port for international terrorism—represent a serious 

15 threat to the security of the United States and 

16 United States allies in Europe, the Middle East, and 

17 around the world; 

18 (2) the United States should continue to sup19 port diplomatic efforts in the International Atomic 

20 Energy Agency and the United Nations Security 

21 Council (UNSC) to end Iran’s illicit nuclear activi22 ties; 

23 (3) the United Nations Security Council should 

24 take further measures beyond UNSC Resolutions 

25 1737, 1747, 1803, and 1835 to tighten sanctions on 


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1 Iran, including preventing new investment in Iran’s 

2 energy sector, as long as Iran fails to comply with 

3 the international community’s demand to halt its 

4 nuclear enrichment campaign; 

5 (4) the United States should take all possible 

6 measures to discourage and, if possible, prevent for7 eign banks from providing export credits to foreign 

8 entities seeking to invest in the Iranian energy sec9 tor; 

10 (5) the United States should encourage foreign 

11 governments to direct state-owned entities to cease 

12 all investment in Iran’s energy sector and all exports 

13 of refined petroleum products to Iran and to per14 suade, and, where possible, require private entities 

15 based in their territories to cease all investment in 

16 Iran’s energy sector and all exports of refined petro17 leum products to Iran; 

18 (6) moderate Arab countries have a vital and 

19 perhaps existential interest in preventing Iran from 

20 acquiring nuclear arms, and therefore such coun21 tries, particularly countries with large oil deposits, 

22 should use their economic leverage to dissuade other 

23 countries, including the Russian Federation and the 

24 People’s Republic of China, from assisting Iran’s nu25 clear program directly or indirectly and to persuade 


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1 other countries, including Russia and China, to be 

2 more forthcoming in supporting UNSC efforts to 

3 halt Iran’s nuclear program; 

4 (7) with Iran’s economy weakened, effective 

5 economic measures to isolate the regime may make 

6 the difference between a diplomatic resolution and a 

7 nuclear standoff; 

8 (8) to make a diplomatic solution possible, 

9 international firms doing business in Iran should not 

10 continue to provide the last crutch of support to the 

11 Iranian economy; and 

12 (9) this Act seeks to prohibit those entities that 

13 do business with the United States from doing busi14 ness with Iran. 

15 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT 

16 CONTRACTS. 

17 (a) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—The head of 

18 each executive agency shall ensure that each contract with 

19 a company entered into by such executive agency for the 

20 procurement of goods or services or agreement for the use 

21 of Federal funds as part of a grant, loan, or loan guar22 antee to a company, includes a clause that requires the 

23 company to certify to the contracting officer that the com24 pany does not conduct business operations in Iran de25 scribed in section 7. 


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1 (b) REMEDIES.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of an executive 

3 agency may impose remedies as provided in this sub4 section if the head of the executive agency deter5 mines that the contractor has submitted a false cer6 tification under subsection (a) after the date the 

7 Federal Acquisition Regulation is revised pursuant 

8 to subsection (e) to implement the requirements of 

9 this section. 

10 (2) TERMINATION.—The head of an executive 

11 agency may terminate a covered contract with a 

12 company upon the determination of a false certifi13 cation under paragraph (1). 

14 (3) SUSPENSION AND DEBARMENT.—The head 

15 of an executive agency may debar or suspend a con16 tractor from eligibility for Federal contracts upon 

17 the determination of a false certification under para18 graph (1). The debarment period may not exceed 3 

19 years. 

20 (4) INCLUSION ON LIST OF PARTIES EXCLUDED

21 FROM FEDERAL PROCUREMENT AND NONPROCURE22 MENT PROGRAMS.—The Administrator of General 

23 Services shall include on the List of Parties Ex24 cluded from Federal Procurement and Nonprocure25 ment Programs maintained by the Administrator 


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1 under part 9 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation 

2 issued under section 25 of the Office of Federal Pro3 curement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 421) each con4 tractor that is debarred, suspended, proposed for de5 barment or suspension, or declared ineligible by the 

6 head of an executive agency on the basis of a deter7 mination of a false certification under paragraph 

8 (1). 

9 (5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This section 

10 shall not be construed to limit the use of other rem11 edies available to the head of an executive agency or 

12 any other official of the Federal Government on the 

13 basis of a determination of a false certification 

14 under paragraph (1). 

15 (c) WAIVER.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may waive 

17 the requirement of subsection (a) on a case-by-case 

18 basis if the President determines and certifies in 

19 writing to the appropriate congressional committees 

20 that it is in the national interest to do so. 

21 (2) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 

22 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act 

23 and semi-annually thereafter, the Administrator for 

24 Federal Procurement Policy shall submit to the apVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:03 Oct 23, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3922.IH H3922

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1 propriate congressional committees a report on waiv2 ers granted under paragraph (1). 

3 (d) IMPLEMENTATION THROUGH THE FEDERAL AC4 QUISITION REGULATION.—Not later than 120 days after 

5 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisi6 tion Regulation issued pursuant to section 25 of the Office 

7 of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 421) shall 

8 be revised to provide for the implementation of the re9 quirements of this section. 

10 (e) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

11 the Federal Acquisition Regulation is revised pursuant to 

12 subsection (e) to implement the requirements of this sec13 tion, the Administrator of General Services, with the as14 sistance of other executive agencies, shall submit to the 

15 Office of Management and Budget and the appropriate 

16 congressional committees a report on the actions taken 

17 under this section. 

18 SEC. 5. AUTHORITY OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 

19 TO PROHIBIT CONTRACTS. 

20 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a State 

21 or local government may adopt and enforce measures to 

22 prohibit the State or local government, as the case may 

23 be, from entering into or renewing a contract for the pro24 curement of goods or services with persons that are inVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:03 Oct 23, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3922.IH H3922

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1 cluded pursuant to section 4(b)(4) on the most recently 

2 published list referred to in that section. 

3 SEC. 6. SUNSET. 

4 This Act shall terminate 30 days after the date on 

5 which— 

6 (1) the President has certified to Congress that 

7 the Government of Iran has ceased providing sup8 port for acts of international terrorism and no 

9 longer satisfies the requirements for designation as 

10 a state-sponsor of terrorism for purposes of section 

11 6(j) of the Export Administration Act of 1979, sec12 tion 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, 

13 section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act, or any 

14 other provision of law; and 

15 (2) Iran has permanently ceased the pursuit, 

16 acquisition, and development of nuclear, biological, 

17 and chemical weapons and missiles. 

18 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

20 (1) COMPANY.—The term ‘‘company’’ means— 

21 (A) a sole proprietorship, organization, as22 sociation, corporation, partnership, limited li23 ability company, venture, or other entity, its 

24 subsidiary or affiliate; and 


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1 (B) includes a company owned or con2 trolled, either directly or indirectly, by the gov3 ernment of a foreign country, that is estab4 lished or organized under the laws of, or has its 

5 principal place of business in, such foreign 

6 country and includes United States subsidiaries 

7 of the same. 

8 (2) AFFILIATE.—The term ‘‘affiliate’’ means 

9 any individual or entity that directly or indirectly 

10 controls, is controlled by, or is under common con11 trol with, the company, including without limitation 

12 direct and indirect subsidiaries of the company. 

13 (3) ENTITY.—The term ‘‘entity’’ means a sole 

14 proprietorship, a partnership, limited liability cor15 poration, association, trust, joint venture, corpora16 tion, or other organization. 

17 (4) FEDERAL FUNDS.—The term ‘‘Federal 

18 funds’’ means a sum of money or other resources de19 rived from United States taxpayers, which the 

20 United States Government may provide to compa21 nies through government grants or loans, or through 

22 the terms of a contract with the Federal Govern23 ment, or through the Emergency Economic Sta24 bilization Act of 2008 ‘‘Troubled Asset Relief ProVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:03 Oct 23, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3922.IH H3922

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1 gram’’ or other similar and related transaction vehi2 cles. 

3 (5) BUSINESS OPERATIONS.—Business oper4 ations described in this Act are business operations 

5 that— 

6 (A) provide Iran with refined petroleum re7 sources; 

8 (B) sell, lease, or provide to Iran any 

9 goods, services, or technology that would allow 

10 Iran to maintain or expand its domestic produc11 tion of refined petroleum resources, including 

12 any assistance in refinery construction, mod13 ernization, or repair; 

14 (C) engage in any activity that could con15 tribute to the enhancement of Iran’s ability to 

16 import refined petroleum resources, including 

17 providing ships or shipping services to deliver 

18 refined petroleum resources to Iran, under19 writing or otherwise providing insurance or re20 insurance for such activity, or financing or 

21 brokering such activity; 

22 (D) invest $20,000,000 or more (or any 

23 combination of investments of at least 

24 $5,000,000 each, which in the aggregate equals 

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1 riod), that directly and significantly contributes 

2 to the enhancement of Iran’s ability to develop 

3 petroleum resources of Iran; and 

4 (E) provides sensitive technology to the 

5 Government of Iran. 

6 (6) GOVERNMENT OF IRAN.—The term ‘‘Gov7 ernment of Iran’’ includes the Government of Iran, 

8 any political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality 

9 thereof, and any person owned or controlled by, or 

10 acting for or on behalf of, the Government of Iran. 

11 (7) PETROLEUM RESOURCES.— 

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

13 resources’’ includes petroleum, petroleum by14 products, oil or liquefied natural gas, oil or liq15 uefied natural gas tankers, and products used 

16 to construct or maintain pipelines used to 

17 transport oil or compressed or liquefied natural 

18 gas. 

19 (B) PETROLEUM BY-PRODUCTS.—The 

20 term ‘‘petroleum by-products’’ means gasoline, 

21 kerosene, distillates, propane or butane gas, die22 sel fuel, residual fuel oil, and other goods classi23 fied in headings 2709 and 2710 of the Har24 monized Tariff Schedule of the United States. 


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1 (8) SENSITIVE TECHNOLOGY.—The term ‘‘sen2 sitive technology’’ means hardware, software, tele3 communications equipment, or any other technology 

4 that the President determines may be used by the 

5 Government of Iran— 

6 (A) to restrict the free flow of unbiased in7 formation in Iran; or 

8 (B) to disrupt, monitor, or otherwise re9 strict speech by the people of Iran. 

10 (9) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT11 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com12 mittees’’ means— 

13 (A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

14 and Urban Affairs, the Committee on Foreign 

15 Relations, and the Select Committee on Intel16 ligence of the Senate; and 

17 (B) the Committee on Financial Services, 

18 the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Per19 manent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 

20 House of Representatives. 

21 (10) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘execu22 tive agency’’ has the meaning given the term in sec23 tion 4 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy 

24 Act (41 U.S.C. 403). 

Æ 


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