My Blog Posts

• New Working Group on Iran Sanctions
  08/04/2010 10:34:42 AM EST
  Yesterday, Howard Berman and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of the House Foreign Affairs Committee released the following statement announcing the initiation of a bipartisan Working Group on Iran Sanction Implementation:

  Today we are initiating a working group that will help ensure that U.S. and international sanctions on Iran are fully implemented, effectively enforced and, ultimately, have the intended effect of bringing about Iran’s termination of all activities contributing to its pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability.

  The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act of 2010, which was signed into law by President Obama on July 1, has already had a significant impact on Iran's access to international markets and its ability to acquire refined petroleum.

  We will continue to pressure and isolate Iran until it terminates its illicit nuclear weapons activities.  A nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable.

  “The group will meet on a regular basis with Administration officials, foreign ambassadors, and outside experts to oversee and verify enforcement of Iran sanctions implementation” ---- which is pretty ambiguous, but there’s nothing like leaving for recess on a strong note, right?
  
• House Moves On War Supplemental
  07/02/2010 02:14:43 PM EST
  After weeks of intense debate, the House passed an approximately $80 billion emergency supplemental appropriations bill last night that will lend an additional $33 billion to the wars in Afghanistan in Iraq. In the end, the vote to advance the nearly $60 billion Senate-passed measure came under a vote on the rule, an obscure process used to allow the House to vote to set the terms for debate on the bill, but not on the underlying bill.  Inside the rule, the bill was deemed passed after the rule passed.  The vote was close, but eeked by at 215-210.  The budget resolution (that isn't really a budget resolution) was included within the self-executing rule. The House then took up five separate amendments that include a $1 billion youth summer jobs program, $10 billion for an Education Jobs Fund and $180 million in loan guarantees split evenly between nuclear and renewable energy programs. For further analysis, see our sister site Nukes of Hazard.
• So it goes...
  07/01/2010 04:32:55 PM EST
  At 6:15 this evening, in the East Room of the White House, President Obama will sign into law “the toughest ever unilateral US sanctions against the Islamic republic” that nobody believes will work. The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act was passed last week by overwhelming margins in both the House and Senate: 408-8 and 99-0, respectively.   Despite Congress’ denial of exemptions for cooperating countries sought by the administration, reactions from the White House have been mostly positive.  In a statement released Friday, Secretary Clinton welcomed the passage of the legislation, saying that both she and President Obama support the “broad aims” of the Congressional action. While the final measure does contain significant human rights and development initiatives that should not be discounted, they do little to offset the fact that the people of Iran, not the regime, are most sensitive to broad sanctions such as those passed by Congress. Update 6/2/10: Remarks by the President at the signing can be found here.
• House Dems Propose $7 Billion Budget Cut
  06/23/2010 04:23:05 PM EST
  Will any of that cut come from defense?   The plan has not been formally announced, but AP reports that House Democratic leaders will propose a $7 billion cut in President Barack Obama's fiscal 2011 budget.  The plan is expected to be attached to the rule for floor consideration of the supplemental, which could move this week The House won’t pass a budget resolution this year, but sees its upcoming one-year spending plan as the “functional equivalent of a budget resolution.”  The plan will set the cap for the 12 regular fiscal 2011 appropriations bills and include selected other provisions. It looks like few of those bills are likely to be complete come Election Day, though, and will be passed in an omnibus bill during a lame duck session, post-election. Stay tuned, the one-year “budget enforcement resolution” could be ready later today.
  
• We're Hiring!
  06/22/2010 01:01:28 PM EST
  JOB OPENING - Council for a Livable World and the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Outreach Coordinator Council for a Livable World and the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation are seeking to hire an Outreach Coordinator, with a specific focus on organizing outreach trips across the United States and engaging online audiences and social networks.