Senator Bob Corker
Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Thursday applauded Senate passage of legislation to sanction Iran, Russia and North Korea. H.R.3364, the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, passed by a vote of 98 to 2 and will now be sent to the president’s desk to be signed into law.
“With near unanimous support in both chambers of Congress, this legislation sends a strong signal to Iran, Russia and North Korea that our country will stand firm and united in the face of their destabilizing behavior,” said Senator Corker.
“This bill ensures Congress will continue to play a leading role in defending the American people and our allies from these serious threats while providing the Trump administration appropriate national security flexibility. I hope the overwhelming support for this legislation can serve as an example for what can be accomplished when Congress works together and puts the interests of the American people first.”
The Iran and Russia components of the legislation were developed in the Senate and originally passed the chamber on June 15 by a vote of 98 to 2.The North Korea language was added earlier this week during consideration by the House of Representatives. The House has committed to approving additional enhancements to the North Korea sanctions provisions in the near future.
Senator Lamar Alexander said, “I voted to impose tougher sanctions on Iran--which remains a threat to our national security, Middle East stability and to Israel—expand sanctions against Russia in response to their interference in our elections last year, and to increase the president’s authority to impose sanctions on anyone who violates UN Security Council resolutions regarding North Korea. Senator Corker deserves great credit for the work the Senate Foreign Relations Committee did on this bill in the Senate earlier this year.”
Senator David Perdue (R-GA), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said, “These three regimes have become increasingly emboldened in their destabilizing behavior which we will not let stand. The Senate’s action to impose sanctions on North Korea could not come at a more important time. Just this week, the Defense Intelligence Agency found that North Korea could achieve an intercontinental ballistic missile next year, two years earlier than previously expected. It’s critical the United States uses every tool at our disposal to deter North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and protect the U.S. homeland.”
Senate passage of this legislation sends the bill to the president to sign. The bill imposes new, mandatory sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile program, requires the administration to block the transfer of property of anyone who sells arms to Iran, and applies terrorism sanctions to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran’s principle military arm used for supporting terrorist activities around the region. The legislation also expands sanctions against members of the Russian government and targets Russian individuals involved in the 2016 cyberattack against the United States’ elections. The bill also increases the president’s authority to impose sanctions on anyone who violates UN Security Council resolutions regarding North Korea.