The House and Senate have resoundingly passed landmark Iran sanctions bills that include the threat of tougher sanctions if Iran rejects U.S. overtures and continues to enrich uranium in defiance of the international community.

The House passed H.R. 2194, the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act (IRPSA), which would limit Iran's ability to import and produce refined petroleum products by requiring the president to impose sanctions on companies helping Iran in these areas. The Senate passed the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act (S. 2799), which includes the IRPSA measures and other key sanctions provisions.

The House legislation was introduced by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) and Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), and is based on a previous Iran sanctions bill introduced in 2007 by Reps. Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Robert Andrews (D-NJ). The Senate bill was introduced by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-AL).

Please thank your House member for supporting IRPSA and your senators for supporting the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act.

President Obama has requested $3 billion in security assistance for Israel for fiscal year 2011. This aid reflects the third year of a 10-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the United States and Israel in 2007 to gradually increase U.S. security assistance to the Jewish state in order to meet increasing threats, including a potential nuclear-armed Iran. The proposed aid to Israel is included in the president's overall request of $58.5 billion in total international affairs spending. Please urge your House and Senate member to support security assistance for Israel and the overall international affairs budget.

The House and Senate have overwhelmingly passed legislation that 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 House passed H.R. 1327, the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act (ISEA), while the Senate passed the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act (S. 2799), which includes the ISEA measures and other key sanctions provisions.

The lead cosponsors of the House bill are Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Mark Kirk (R-IL). The Senate bill was introduced by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-AL).

Please thank your House member for supporting ISEA and your senators for supporting the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act.