Royce Subcommittee Passes Iran Legislation
Iran is a Global Threat
Washington,
Mar 1, 2012 -
Today, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade, chaired by Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), unanimously approved legislation to counter Iran's threatening activities in the Western Hemisphere. H.R. 3783, "The Countering Iran in the Western Hemisphere Act of 2012," requires the State Department to devise a strategy to counter Iran’s growing presence in Latin America.
"The Administration has not adequately examined, or sought to counter, Iran’s growing and hostile diplomatic and intelligence presence in our Hemisphere. This legislation should help kick the bureaucracy into gear," said Royce.
Recently testifying before Congress, the Director of National Intelligence stated that Iranian officials "have changed their calculus and are now willing to conduct an attack in the United States." The DNI went on to say that the Iranians are "trying to penetrate and engage in this hemisphere."
Royce added, "The Iranian threat isn’t just thousands of miles away. Hezbollah operatives have penetrated our borders. The Iranian attempt to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador on U.S. soil using a Mexican drug cartel is the latest demonstration of this threat."
H.R. 3783 is authored by Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) and has over 60 cosponsors.
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