Murkowski on Iran Sanctions Vote
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, made the following comment today after the Senate voted 99 – 0 in favor of a bill – the ‘Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act’ – that would impose tougher economic sanctions against people or businesses that do business with Iran.
“On June 9th the United Nations Security Council, in a divided vote, adopted a series of compromise sanctions intended to persuade Iran to end the efforts to develop nuclear weapons technology. The sanctions were welcome but in an effort to build compromise they were simply not sufficient. Today the United States Senate has given the President the tools to place the full moral, economic and political influence of the United States behind global efforts to persuade the Ahmadinejad regime to end its nuclear aspirations, to end its threat to the security of the state of Israel, and to end human rights abuses against the Iranian people whose history, culture and traditions our Nation deeply respects. The strength of today’s vote in the Senate demonstrates the unity of our national resolve that Iran’s conduct poses a grave threat to peace and security. The Senate has been anxious to approve this measure for some time and I’m glad it now goes to the White House. I was proud to cosponsor two of the measures that are incorporated into this legislation -- the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act and the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act -- and hope that the President will move expeditiously to sign and implement it.”
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