76 cosponsors.
Would require the President to impose sanctions on any person or company that he finds to have provided refined petroleum products to Iran or provided support for the expansion of Iran’s domestic petroleum refining industry. Shipping companies that transport refined petroleum products to Iran and the companies that insure them are also subject to sanctions. Halting or reducing Iran’s imports of refined petroleum products is widely believed by supporters of such sanctions to have the effect of crippling Iran’s economy given its dependence on imported refined petroleum.
This bill and its House companion measure (H.R. 2194 of 4/30/09) were introduced days before the annual American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference, which began on 2 May 2009. At the conclusion of the conference on 5 May 2009, thousands of AIPAC supporters met with their Representatives and Senators to lobby for AIPAC backed legislative initiatives, the Senate and House versions of this bill being the top priority among them.
Additionally, on 10 September 2009 a group of some 200 representatives of national Jewish organizations lobbied Congress and the Obama administration to support the Senate and House versions of this bill. The widely publicized lobbying effort, dubbed the National Jewish Leadership Advocacy on Iran, was organized by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Iran led by the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, among others. The lobbying effort also included a panel discussion with AIPAC Executive Director Howard Kohr, Anti-Defamation League National Director Abraham Foxman, American Jewish Committee Executive Director David Harris and B'nai B'rith International Executive Director Dan Mariaschin and was moderated by Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents. The panel was attended by senior House Democratic and Republican leaders, many of whom also addressed the gathering.
See also: companion measure H.R. 2194 of 4/30/09; similar measures H.R. 3238 of 10/15/09 and S. 2799 of 11/19/09; and related measure H.R. 485 of 1/13/09.