Meng and Zeldin Introduce Bill to Renew and Broaden Law Which Monitors Certain Ships and Airlines that Travel in and out of Iran

U.S. Reps. Grace Meng (D-NY) and Lee Zeldin (R-NY), members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced legislation to renew and broaden a key U.S. law which monitors certain ships and airlines that travel in and out of Iran.

Under this law, the President is required to report to Congress – on an annual basis – which foreign ships enter Iran’s seaports owned by sanctioned entities, and which foreign airports sanctioned Iranian air carriers fly into. The law expires on December 31.

The Meng–Zeldin bill, entitled the Sanctioned Iranian Entities Oversight Act of 2016 (H.R. 4633), would extend the law for another three years. It would also and add a new requirement that the Administration report to Congress all efforts the State Department has made to encourage other countries to prohibit the use of air space and airports by sanctioned Iranian air carriers.

“This law is critical to maintaining oversight of existing sanctioned entities in Iran,” said Meng. “It is essential to tracking who is going into and coming out of Iran and where these vessels and airplanes go before and after their stops in the Islamic Republic. Following their path allows us to better scrutinize their activities to ensure that Iran is not trading illicit and dangerous materials. We must continue to hold sanctioned Iranian entities accountable and passing this bill will assure Congress that existing sanctions are being enforced.”

“With bipartisan support in Congress, the House should act quickly to pass H.R. 4633,” said Zeldin. “This bill renews a critical U.S. law to monitor and track ships and airlines traveling in and out of Iran. As Iran’s regime is still under a slew of sanctions and cannot be trusted, we must use all of the tools at our disposal to hold Iran accountable for its dangerous behavior."

Meng and Zeldin’s bipartisan legislation is cosponsored by Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and the panel’s Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY). Other cosponsors include Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Randy Weber (R-TX), Bill Johnson (R-OH), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Cedric Richmond (D-LA) and Peter King (R-NY).

The bill has been referred to the Foreign Affairs Committee where it is awaiting further action.