II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1430 

To authorize State and local governments to direct divestiture from, and 

prevent investment in, companies with investments of $20,000,000 or 

more in Iran’s energy sector, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 17, 2007 

Mr. OBAMA (for himself and Mr. BROWNBACK) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To authorize State and local governments to direct divestiture from, and prevent investment in, companies with 

investments of $20,000,000 or more in Iran’s energy 

sector, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Iran Sanctions Ena5 bling Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 


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1 (1) The Convention on the Prevention and Pun2 ishment of the Crime of Genocide, done at Paris De3 cember 9, 1948 (commonly referred to as the 

4 ‘‘Genocide Convention’’) defines genocide as, among 

5 other things, the act of killing members of a na6 tional, ethnic, racial, or religious group with the in7 tent to destroy, in whole or in part, the targeted 

8 group. In addition, the Genocide Convention also 

9 prohibits conspiracy to commit genocide, as well as 

10 ‘‘[d]irect and public incitement to commit genocide’’. 

11 (2) 133 member states of the United Nations 

12 have ratified the Genocide Convention and thereby 

13 pledged to prosecute individuals who violate the 

14 Genocide Convention’s prohibition on incitement to 

15 commit genocide, as well as those individuals who 

16 commit genocide directly. 

17 (3) On October 27, 2005, at the World Without 

18 Zionism Conference in Tehran, Iran, the President 

19 of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, called for Israel to 

20 be ‘‘wiped off the map,’’ described Israel as ‘‘a dis21 graceful blot [on] the face of the Islamic world,’’ and 

22 declared that ‘‘[a]nybody who recognizes Israel will 

23 burn in the fire of the Islamic nation’s fury.’’ Presi24 dent Ahmadinejad has subsequently made similar 

25 types of comments. 


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1 (4) On December 23, 2006, the United Nations 

2 Security Council unanimously approved Resolution 

3 1737, which bans the supply of nuclear technology 

4 and equipment to Iran and freezes the assets of cer5 tain organizations and individuals involved in Iran’s 

6 nuclear program, until Iran suspends its enrichment 

7 of uranium, as verified by the International Atomic 

8 Energy Agency. 

9 (5) Following Iran’s failure to comply with Res10 olution 1737, on March 24, 2007, the United Na11 tions Security Council unanimously approved Reso12 lution 1747, to tighten sanctions on Iran, imposing 

13 a ban on arms sales and expanding the freeze on as14 sets, in response to the country’s uranium-enrich15 ment activities. 

16 (6) There are now signs of domestic discontent 

17 within Iran, and targeted financial and economic 

18 measures could produce a change in Iranian policy. 

19 According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, the 

20 nuclear crisis ‘‘is imposing a heavy opportunity cost 

21 on Iran’s economic development, slowing down in22 vestment in the oil, gas, and petrochemical sectors, 

23 as well as in critical infrastructure projects, includ24 ing electricity’’. 


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1 (7) Targeted financial measures represent one 

2 of the strongest non-military tools available to con3 vince the Government of Iran that it can no longer 

4 afford to engage in dangerous, destabilizing activi5 ties such as its nuclear weapons program and its 

6 support for terrorism. 

7 (8) Foreign persons that have invested in Iran’s 

8 energy sector, despite Iran’s support of international 

9 terrorism and its nuclear program, have provided 

10 additional financial means for Iran’s activities in 

11 these areas, and many United States persons have 

12 unknowingly invested in those same foreign persons. 

13 (9) There is an increasing interest by States, 

14 local governments, educational institutions, and pri15 vate institutions to seek to disassociate themselves 

16 from companies that directly or indirectly support 

17 the Government of Iran’s efforts to achieve a nu18 clear weapons capability. 

19 (10) Policy makers and fund managers may 

20 find moral, prudential, or reputational reasons to di21 vest assets from persons that accept the business 

22 risk of operating in countries that are subject to 

23 international economic sanctions or that have busi24 ness relationships with countries, governments, or 

25 entities with which any United States person would 


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1 be prohibited from dealing because of economic 

2 sanctions imposed by the United States. 

3 SEC. 3. TRANSPARENCY IN UNITED STATES CAPITAL MAR4 KETS. 

5 (a) LIST OF PERSONS INVESTING IN IRAN ENERGY

6 SECTOR.— 

7 (1) PUBLICATION OF LIST.—Not later than 180 

8 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

9 every 180 days thereafter, the Secretary of the 

10 Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of En11 ergy, the Secretary of State, the Securities and Ex12 change Commission, and the heads of other appro13 priate Federal departments and agencies, shall pub14 lish in the Federal Register a list of persons, wheth15 er within or outside of the United States, that, as 

16 of the date of the publication, have made an invest17 ment of more than $20,000,000 in the energy sector 

18 of Iran. The list shall include a description of the in19 vestment made by each such person, including the 

20 dollar value, intended purpose, and status of the in21 vestment, as of the date of the publication of the 

22 list. 

23 (2) PRIOR NOTICE TO PERSONS.—Not later 

24 than 30 days before the list is published under para25 graph (1), the Secretary of the Treasury shall notify 


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1 each person that the Secretary intends to include on 

2 the list. 

3 (3) DELAY IN INCLUDING PERSONS ON THE

4 LIST.—After notifying a person under paragraph (2) 

5 that the Secretary intends to include such person on 

6 the list, the Secretary may delay including such per7 son on the list for not more than 60 days if the Sec8 retary determines and certifies to Congress that 

9 such person has taken specific and effective actions 

10 to divest or terminate the investment in the energy 

11 sector of Iran that resulted in the notification under 

12 paragraph (2). 

13 (4) REMOVAL OF PERSONS FROM THE LIST.— 

14 The Secretary of the Treasury may remove a person 

15 from the list under paragraph (1) before the next 

16 publication of the list if the Secretary, in consulta17 tion with, as appropriate, the Secretary of Energy, 

18 the Secretary of State, the Securities and Exchange 

19 Commission, and the heads of other Federal depart20 ments and agencies, determines that the person has 

21 divested or terminated the investment in the energy 

22 sector of Iran that resulted in the Secretary includ23 ing such person on the list. 

24 (b) PUBLICATION ON WEBSITE.—The Secretary of 

25 the Treasury shall maintain on the website of the DepartVerDate Aug 31 2005 18:47 May 18, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1430.IS S1430

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1 ment of the Treasury the names of the persons on the 

2 list published under subsection (a)(1), updating the list 

3 as necessary to take into account any person removed 

4 from the list under subsection (a)(4). 

5 (c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘invest6 ment’’ has the meaning given that term in section 14(9) 

7 of the Iran Sanctions Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 note). 

8 SEC. 4. AUTHORITY OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 

9 TO DIVEST ASSETS FROM CERTAIN COMPA10 NIES INVESTED IN IRAN’S ENERGY SECTOR. 

11 (a) AUTHORITY TO DIVEST.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

13 provision of law, a State or local government may 

14 adopt and enforce measures to divest the assets of 

15 the State or local government from, or prohibit in16 vestment of the assets of the State or local govern17 ment in, persons that are included on the most re18 cent list published under section 3(a)(1), as modified 

19 under section 3(a)(4). 

20 (2) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection applies to 

21 measures adopted by a State or local government be22 fore, on, or after the date of the enactment of this 

23 Act. 

24 (3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 


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1 (A) INVESTMENT OF THE ASSETS OF THE

2 STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 

3 ‘‘investment of the assets of the State or local 

4 government’’ includes— 

5 (i) a commitment or contribution of 

6 assets; and 

7 (ii) a loan or other extension of credit 

8 of assets. 

9 (B) ASSETS.—The term ‘‘assets’’ refers to 

10 public monies and includes any pension, retire11 ment, annuity, or endowment fund, or similar 

12 instrument, that is controlled by a State or 

13 local government. 

14 (b) PREEMPTION.—A measure of a State or local 

15 government that is authorized by subsection (a) is not pre16 empted by any Federal law or regulation except to the ex17 tent that a person is unable to comply with both the meas18 ure and the Federal law or regulation. 

19 SEC. 5. SAFE HARBOR FOR CHANGES OF INVESTMENT 

20 POLICIES BY MUTUAL FUNDS. 

21 Section 13 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 

22 (15 U.S.C. 80a–13) is amended by adding at the end the 

23 following new subsection: 

24 ‘‘(c) SAFE HARBOR FOR CHANGES IN INVESTMENT

25 POLICIES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of FedVerDate Aug 31 2005 18:47 May 18, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1430.IS S1430

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1 eral or State law, no person may bring any civil, criminal, 

2 or administrative action against any registered investment 

3 company or person providing services to such registered 

4 investment company (including its investment adviser), or 

5 any employee, officer, or director thereof, based upon the 

6 investment company divesting from, or avoiding investing 

7 in, securities issued by companies that are included on the 

8 most recent list published under section 3(a)(1) of the 

9 Iran Sanctions Enabling Act, as modified under section 

10 3(a)(4) of that Act. For purposes of this subsection the 

11 term ‘person’ shall include the Federal government and 

12 any State or political subdivision of a State.’’. 

13 SEC. 6. SAFE HARBOR FOR CHANGES OF INVESTMENT 

14 POLICIES BY EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS. 

15 Section 502 of the Employee Retirement Income Se16 curity Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1132) is amended by adding 

17 at the end the following new subsection: 

18 ‘‘(n) DIVESTMENT OF ASSETS IN FIDUCIARIES IN19 VESTING IN IRAN.—No person shall be treated as breach20 ing any of the responsibilities, obligations, or duties im21 posed upon fiduciaries by this title, and no action may 

22 be brought under this section against any person, for di23 vesting plan assets from, or avoiding investing plan assets 

24 in, persons that are included on the most recent list pubVerDate Aug 31 2005 18:47 May 18, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1430.IS S1430

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1 lished under section 3(a)(1) of the Iran Sanctions Ena2 bling Act, as modified under section 3(a)(4) of such Act.’’. 

3 SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THRIFT SAVINGS 

4 PLAN. 

5 It is the sense of the Congress that— 

6 (1) the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment 

7 Board should initiate efforts to provide a terror-free 

8 international investment option among the funds of 

9 the Thrift Savings Fund that would invest in stocks 

10 in which the International Stock Index Investment 

11 Fund may invest under section 8438(b)(4) of title 5, 

12 United States Code, other than the stock of compa13 nies that do business in any country the government 

14 of which the Secretary of State has determined is a 

15 government that has repeatedly provided support for 

16 acts of international terrorism, for purposes of sec17 tion 40 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 

18 2780), section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act 

19 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371), section 6(j) of the Export 

20 Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 

21 2405(j)), as continued in effect pursuant to the 

22 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

23 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), or any other provision of law 

24 relating to governments that provide support for 

25 acts of international terrorism; and 


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1 (2) the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment 

2 Board should initiate efforts similar to those de3 scribed in paragraph (1) to provide a genocide-free 

4 international investment option. 

5 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 

7 (1) IRAN.—The term ‘‘Iran’’ includes any agen8 cy or instrumentality of the Government of Iran. 

9 (2) ENERGY SECTOR.—The term ‘‘energy sec10 tor’’ refers to activities to develop petroleum or nat11 ural gas resources. 

12 (3) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means a nat13 ural person as well as a corporation, business asso14 ciation, partnership, society, trust, any other non15 governmental entity, organization, or group, and any 

16 governmental entity or instrumentality of a govern17 ment. 

18 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ includes the 

19 District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 

20 Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, 

21 and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is22 lands. 

23 (5) STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 

24 ‘‘State or local government’’ includes— 


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1 (A) any State and any agency or instru2 mentality thereof; 

3 (B) any local government within a State, 

4 and any agency or instrumentality thereof; and 

5 (C) any public institution of higher edu6 cation, as defined in section 102 of the Higher 

7 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

8 SEC. 9. SUNSET. 

9 The provisions of this Act shall terminate 30 days 

10 after the date on which the President has certified to Con11 gress that— 

12 (1) the Government of Iran has ceased pro13 viding support for acts of international terrorism 

14 and no longer satisfies the requirements for designa15 tion as a state sponsor of terrorism for purposes of 

16 section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 

17 U.S.C. 2780), section 620A of the Foreign Assist18 ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371), section 6(j) of 

19 the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. 

20 App. 2405(j)), as continued in effect pursuant to the 

21 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

22 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), or any other provision of law 

23 relating to governments that provide support for 

24 acts of international terrorism; 


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1 (2) the Government of Iran has ceased the pur2 suit, acquisition, and development of nuclear, bio3 logical, and chemical weapons and ballistic missiles 

4 and ballistic missile launch technology; and 

5 (3) the Government of Iran has retracted the 

6 statements of the President of Iran, Mahmoud 

7 Ahmadinejad, calling for the destruction of Israel. 

Æ 


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