AIPAC is Washington’s most important resource for policymakers involved in Middle East issues and the U.S.-Israel relationship. AIPAC provides extensive resources, including bill summaries, issue analysis and briefing materials, on important initiatives the organization is supporting.
Members of the House and Senate have introduced resolutions (H. Con. Res. 362 and S. Res. 580) calling on the administration to focus on the urgency of the Iranian nuclear threat and to impose tougher sanctions on Tehran. The resolutions, introduced in the House by Reps. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) and Mike Pence (R-IN) and in the Senate by Sens. Evan Bayh (D-IN) and John Thune (R-SD), urge the president to sanction Iran’s Central Bank and other international banks and energy companies investing in the country. They also demand that the United States lead an international effort to increase pressure on Tehran by prohibiting the export to Iran of all refined petroleum products.
The Iran Counter-Proliferation Act strengthens U.S. tools to cut off funds to Iran's nuclear program and prohibits U.S. nuclear cooperation with those aiding Iran's atomic efforts. The House version of the comprehensive sanctions bill, introduced by Reps. Tom Lantos (D-CA) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) in the House and Sens. Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) in the Senate, passed the House on Sept. 25, 2007, by a vote of 397-16. Key provisions of the Senate version were included in two Iran sanctions bills passed by the Senate Finance and Banking Committees.
The Iran Sanctions Enabling Act (H.R. 2347 and S. 1430) authorizes state and local governments to divest from companies investing in Iran's petroleum and natural gas sector and protects fund managers who divest from such companies from potential lawsuits. The passage of the bill comes as states around the country are mounting efforts to divest their pension funds from companies investing in Iran's petroleum sector or conducting business with its defense or nuclear sectors. The House bill, introduced by Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Christopher Shays (R-CT), was passed on July 31, 2007, by a vote of 408-6. Key provisions of the Senate version were included in an Iran sanctions bill passed by the Senate Banking Committee.
Key House and Senate panels approved $2.38 billion in security assistance for Israel as part of the fiscal year 2009 foreign aid bill. The security assistance included in the bill, which key House and Senate committees approved in July, would bring the total amount of assistance to Israel for next year to $2.55 billion when combined with the additional funding included in a recent supplemental appropriations bill. The sum reflects the first year of a 10-year plan between the United States and Israel to gradually increase U.S. security assistance to the Jewish state to help it face increasing threats. Under the agreement signed in August 2007, the $2.55 billion request will gradually increase until 2013, when it will level off at $3.1 billion per year until 2018.
More than half of the House and three-quarters of the Senate sent letters to President Bush reinforcing the key principles America should stand by as it works to help Israel achieve peace. The letters reiterate Israel’s right to self-defense, call on the U.S. to stand strongly with Israel at the U.N. and urge the president to press the Arab states to do more to support Israeli-Palestinian talks. The House letter, sent on June 27 and signed by 268 members of the House, was authored by Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Howard Berman (D-CA) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL). The Senate letter, sent on June 24 and signed by 77 members of the Senate, including Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), was authored by Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Susan Collins (R-ME), and was reinforced by an additional message by Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL).
AIPAC's top backgrounders on the issues that matter most.
Terrorist rocket fire from Gaza into Israel represents a serious violation of the Egyptian-mediated effort to reduce hostilities from and around Gaza.
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Read AIPAC’s comprehensive guide to the U.S.-Israel relationship and the important challenges facing U.S. Middle East policy.
