House dismisses new Iran president, votes to boost sanctions

While still overwhelming, the vote is somewhat notable for the 20 members who voted against it and the several arguments against the bill in debate. Many Iran sanctions votes have passed almost unanimously in the House — last year, the House approved an Iran sanctions bill in a 421-6 vote, and others have been passed by voice vote in recent years.

Earlier this month, 131 members of the House called on President Obama to seek diplomacy with Iran and its new president, up from 71 last year.

{mosads}During debate on the bill, several Democrats argued that Rouhani, who will be sworn in as Iran’s president over the weekend, is seen as a far less controversial leader than Mamoud Ahmadinejad. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) said the United States should give Rouhani time before hitting him with more sanctions.

“Why not, at least until Mr. Rouhani has a chance, forestall legislation like this and engage in diplomacy?” Ellison asked.

“Why do we want to strengthen the hands of extremists who will say to Rouhani, ‘See, you thought you could work with them. We were right all along.’ “

Ellison was joined by other Democrats who called for a similar delay. But most Democrats agreed with Republicans that Rouhani is not a reformer, and that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei still runs the country.

Khamenei himself seemed to rebuff calls in the U.S. to try diplomacy again last week, when he said Americans are “not trustworthy.“

For these reasons, supporters of the bill said the U.S. needs to maintain economic pressure on Iran in order to thwart the country’s effort to develop nuclear weapons. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) made a rare floor speech in favor of the bill, and said he would vote for it.

“This legislation recognizes a stark truth, and that is that Iran is a global menace, and this bill empowers the President to act decisively to address it,” he said. “The United States, especially its Congress, has the duty to respond to Iran’s actions, not it’s rhetoric.”

He was joined by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who said the House needs to remain consistent in its dealings with Iran.

“Our actions must be clear and our commitment must be unwavering,” she said. “It must be to continue this policy of the United States to prevent any country from developing nuclear weapons capability.”

Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) added that Iran has negotiated “again and again” in bad faith on the issue of scaling back its nuclear ambitions, and agreed that Congress should not waver just because of Iran’s June election.

“America’s policies must be based on facts, and not some hope about a new government perhaps in Iran that somehow will change the nature of the clerical regime in Tehran,” he said.

The Executive Branch has typically resisted congressional sanctions bills, but is often forced to deal with them because they have been so popular for the last few decades. Today, the Obama administration said it will continue to work with Congress on Iran sanctions legislation, and said Iran is already subject to numerous U.S. sanctions.

A State Department spokeswoman added that the administration is hopeful that Rouhani’s election creates more room for a diplomatic resolution on Iran’s nuclear program.

Last month, Secretary of State John Kerry asked lawmakers to delay sanctions legislation until after the June 14 election to replace Ahmadinejad.

The bill encourages the designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization, and sanctions people responsible for human rights abuses.

It amends current law to impose mandatory sanctions on financial institutions that provide services to people subject to human rights sanctions, or who export sensitive technology to Iran.

It amends law to allow the President to impose sanctions on foreign people who transact with the Central Bank of Iran, and weakens exceptions to sanctions related to the purchase of Iranian petroleum.

Later in the evening, the House passed H.Con.Res. 41, encouraging peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula.