Members of the House and Senate introduced concurrent resolutions on Dec. 1 to reaffirm the rights of states to maintain economic sanctions against Iran for its sponsorship of terrorism, human rights violations and other illicit activities.

In the House, Illinois Rep. Peter Roskam along with original cosponsors Reps. Ted Deutch of Florida, Brad Sherman of California, Mike Pompeo of Kansas and Lee Zeldin of New York, introduced H.Con.Res.100 . Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk , along with Senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Joe Manchin of West Virginia introduced S.Con.Res.26 .

“We applaud Senator Kirk, Representative Roskam, and the bipartisan national leadership in making sure that states are able to continue to exercise their authority to impose sanctions on Iran,” said JUF Government Affairs Committee Chair David Golder. “It is important for Congress to support states that seek to ensure taxpayer dollars do not support activities that violate their values.”

Currently, 30 states, including Illinois and the District of Columbia, have divestment laws in place, and 11 states, including Illinois, have contracting prohibition laws in place against Iran.

The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions Accountability Act of 2010 (CISADA) authorized states to impose economic sanctions against Iran due to its illicit behavior which materially threatens the U.S. and its allies. While the sanctions relief granted to Iran a few months ago under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action has raised questions regarding whether state sanctions can be invalidated, CISADA clearly authorized states to impose economic sanctions against Iran, and these resolutions are needed to reaffirm Congress’ legislative intent and support for state sanctions against Iran.