1.  Bills, Resolutions, & Letters

(NEW IRAN SANCTIONS) HR 1905:  As expected, this week House and Senate negotiators reached agreement on language of a new Iran (and Syria) sanctions bill.  On 8/1/12, the House passed H. Res.750, "Providing for the concurrence by the House in the Senate amendment to HR 1905, with an amendment" by a roll call vote of 421-6.  Voting no were: Amash (R-MI), Duncan (R-TN), Johnson (R-IL), Jones (R-NC), Kucinich (D-OH), and Paul (R-TX).  The amended HR 1905 was sent immediately to the Senate, where it was adopted by a voice vote that same day.  House floor consideration of the final text of the bill is available here; Senate consideration is here (Sen. Schumer, D-NY, spoke on the Senate floor separately, here).  The only voices speaking against the bill were Kucinich (D-OH) and Paul (R-TX).  The latter delivered extremely strong comments (text in Section 4, below).  Kucinich spoke numerous times and entered into the Congressional Record the statement from two organizations opposing the bill, FCNL and the International Civil Society Action Network.  See last week's Round-Up for additional details about what got things to this point.  

A sampling of related press coverage:
Press TV (IRAN) 8/2: US Congress passes extra embargoes on Iran
Times of Israel 8/2: Congress approves new sanctions on Iran
Israel Hayon 8/2: Congress backs tougher sanctions against Iran
The Cable 8/1: House and Senate pass Iran sanctions bill
Tehran Times 8/1: U.S. Congress in the hands of the Israeli lobby
The Hill 8/1: House, Senate approve tougher sanctions against Iran, Syria
AFP 8/1: US Congress approves new sanctions on Iran
Reuters 8/1: Congress approves new Iran sanctions on oil, shipping sectors
NYT 7/31: White House and Congress Are in Step Over Iran Sanctions

Note:  The fact that HR 1905 somewhere along the way transformed from the "Iran Threat Reduction Act of 2011" to the "Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012" has garnered little in the way of comment - probably because going after Syria human rights abuses is non-controversial.  For those who are interested in the minutiae, the Syria language in the bill started life as a freestanding bill, S. 2034, introduced by Sen. Gillibrand (D-NY) - cosponsored by Reps. Brown (D-OH) and Schumer (D-NY) - on 1/24/12.  S. 2034 was referred to the SFRC, where no further action on it was taken.  Then, on 5/21/12 on the Senate floor, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Johnson (D-SD) offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute to the House-passed text of HR 1905 (followed by a further amendment to improve his earlier amendment). The Johnson text included a new section bearing the same title as S. 2034 and containing identical, or nearly identical, language, to the first part of that bill.  Those amendments were adopted and a new bill, dealing now with both Iran and Syria, was born.  

(IRAN Amendment) S. 3414:  Introduced 7/19/12 by Sen. Lieberman (R-, I mean I-CT), "Cybersecurity Act of 2012."  On 7/30/12 Sen. Graham (R-SC) offered an amendment, SA 2653, to S. 3414, which makes no pretense of having anything to do with the base bill.  The amendment focused on Iran's nuclear program and reiterating (among other things) that containment is not U.S. policy, that the window for diplomacy is closing, and that the goal is to prevent Iran acquiring "nuclear weapons capability" (as opposed to "nuclear weapons").  The amendment is clearly recycled language - evidence being a finding that refers to discussions that "are set to resume in Baghdad, Iraq on May 23, 2012."  The amendment has not been considered as of this writing.
    
(JEWS FROM ARAB COUNTRIES) HR 6242:  Introduced 7/31/12 by Rep. Nadler (D-NY) and 5 cosponsors, "To direct the President to submit to Congress a report on actions the executive branch has taken relating to the resolution of the issue of Jewish refugees from Arab countries."  Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. This is not the first Hill initiative focused on Jews from Arab countries - a comprehensive table of all legislative initiatives related to Jewish or Palestinian refugees from 1989-present is available here.  For commentary on how this issue is being used politically, see this week's post by Lara Friedman on Open Zion: Exploiting Jews from Arab Countries.  The new bill was lauded in a press release from an organization called "Justice for Jews from Arab Countries (JJAC)" and was covered 8/1 in the JTA, with that article picked up for publication by Haaretz.

(SYRIA) S. 3498: Introduced 8/2/12 by Sen. Casey (D-PA), "A bill to provide humanitarian assistance and support a democratic transition in Syria, and for other purposes."  Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

(SYRIA) H. Res. 770: Introduced 8/2/12 by Rep. Pearce (R-NM), "Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that President Barack Obama should request authorization before sending the United States Armed Forces into Syria."  Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

(SYRIA) H. Res. 763: Introduced 8/2/12 by Rep. Bilirakis (R-FL) and 4 cosponsors, "condemning the targeted violence of vulnerable minority faith communities in Syria and calling on the United States Government to prioritize the safety and security of these communities."  Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

(TURKEY) H. Res. 772: Introduced 8/2/12 by Reps. Whitfield (R-KY)  and Hastings (D-FL), "Condemning the Kurdistan Workers' Party and supporting a peaceful dialogue with Turkey."  Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Letters:

(US-Tunisia relations) Lieberman et al Letter to Obama: On 7/23/12 Senator Lieberman (R-, I mean I-CT) and 5 Senate colleagues sent a letter to Obama expressing strong support for a "deepening security and economic partnership between the Untied States and Tunisia..."

2.  Hearings

8/1/12: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing entitled "Next Steps in Syria."  Video available here. Witnesses were: Martin Indyk (Brookings Institution - testimony); James Dobbins (RAND - testimony); and Andrew Tabler (WINEP - testimony).  

3. Ackerman (D-NY) on Romney Travels

On 7/31/12 Rep. Ackerman (D-NY) - ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia - released the following statement regarding Governor Mitt Romney's recent travels.
 

ACKERMAN ISSUES STATEMENT BLASTING ROMNEY'S TRIP ABROAD
 
U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), the top Democrat on the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, this afternoon issued the following statement blasting Mitt Romney's trip abroad:
 
"Governor's Romney's gaffe-filled adventure abroad, where he managed to both insult the United Kingdom and create minor press revolt in Poland because of his arrogant refusal to expose himself by answering any questions, would be unworthy of comment had he not demonstrated such extreme and dangerous ignorance and naïveté regarding the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, an issue of great concern to me and so many of my constituents.
 
While he may have been seeking merely to pander to those whom he perceives to be useful to his political ambitions, he more substantially and unquestionably harmed the interests of the United States in being able to successfully influence the peace process, however moribund it may be at this time. Palestinians are well aware of the special relationship between America and Israel but they have always recognized that even though we are not impartial, that we were at least not hostile toward them as a people, or opposed to their legitimate aspirations for a state of their own.
 
Governor Romney, with his daft remarks about Palestinian culture, his refusal to see President Abbas and 'half-pregnant' remarks about an Israeli strike on Iran demonstrated the same kind brash yet clumsy foreign policy that so characterized the Bush Administration. Surrounded as he is by former Bush Administration officials, perhaps this kind of blustery bumbling should come as no surprise.
 
But until Governor Romney can speak without insulting our allies, hampering our diplomacy and confusing the international community regarding our national intentions, he should just keep quiet about foreign affairs. The presidency is no place for such amateurish and spastic blundering."

4.  Ron Paul (R-TX) on Iran Sanctions

On 8/1/12, Rep. Paul (R-TX) delivered the following statement with respect to the HR 1905, the latest Iran sanctions bill:

I think this bill would be better named if we called it ``Obsession with Iran Act of 2012'' because this is what we continue to be doing--obsess with Iran and the idea that Iran is a threat to our national security. Iran happens to be a Third World nation. They have no significant navy, air force, intercontinental ballistic missiles. The IAEA and our CIA say they are not on the verge of a nuclear weapon.

It's so similar to what we went through in the early part of this last decade where we were beating the war drums to go to war against Iraq. And it was all a facade. There was no danger from Iraq. So this is what we're doing, beating the war drums once again.

Since the bill has come back from the conference, if we are to deal with civil liberties in Syria--well, I happen to be a civil libertarian. I am very concerned about civil liberties. But let me tell you, this bill is not going to do anything to enhance the civil liberties of the individuals in Syria.  If we were really interested in civil liberties, why wouldn't we look to ourselves? Why wouldn't we look to the things we do here? What about our warrantless searches under the PATRIOT Act? What about the policy of assassination, assassinating American citizens? What about arrests by the military, the National Defense Authorization Act? What about the drone warfare that we go on? Do you think we are protecting civil liberties by arbitrarily dropping drones or threatening to drop drones anyplace in the world, with innocent people dying?

I we want to really care about civil liberties in Syria, why don't we care about the secret prisons we have and the history of torture that we have had in this country? What about the fact that kill lists are being made by the executive branch of government, and we sit idly by and approve of it by saying nothing, and the American people put up with it, and we march in this direction, marching into a determination to have another war?

When you put sanctions on a country, it's an act of war, and that is what this is all about. The first thing you do when war breaks out between two countries is you put sanctions on them. You blockade the country. So this is an act of war. What would we do if somebody blockaded and put sanctions on us and prevented the importation of any product of this country? We would be furious. We would declare war. We would go to war. So we are the antagonists. We're over there poking our nose and poking our nose in other people's affairs, just looking for a chance to start another war. First it's Syria and then Iran. We have too many wars. We need to stop the wars. We don't have the money to fight these wars any longer.

5.  Members on the Record

Kyl (R-AZ) 8/2: Defending Romney and doubling down on idea that Israeli culture yields prosperity (and by inference, Palestinian culture is at fault for Palestinian lack thereof)
McCain (R-AZ) 8/2: On Syria, noting "Today we have information that the President of the United States has made a decision...to facilitate the flow of weapons to the Syrian resistance fighters...that they also need a sanctuary. They need an area that is secure, the same way the Libyans needed Benghazi, so they can train, equip, and establish a government."
Leahy (D-VT) 8/2: Criticizing Congress for putting funding decision on "autopilot" given serious policy challenges, including in the Middle East
Blunt (R-MO) 8/2: Praising new Iran sanctions
Lautenberg (D-NJ) 8/2: Slamming GOP for "politicizing Israel"
Franks (R-AZ) 8/2: On Iran's nuclear ambitions, blaming Obama Admin for failing to stop them, saying Israel can't trust Obama, comparing Iran to Nazi Germany ("they will not be made to walk silently into the gas chambers again"), & saying that if Israel is forced to attack Iran, the Obama Admin will owe Israel an apology "for leaving them with no choice but to act on behalf of all of us."
Gohmert (R-TX) 8/2: Another rambling Islamophobic, anti-Obama diatribe (and managing to both bash Mubarak and Qadafi and bash the Obama Admin for having "turned its back on [these] allies"); also doubling down on prior accusations: "We know there's Muslim Brotherhood influence. The question is how much influence is there? ...There's no question there is Muslim Brotherhood influence in this administration... we know that one of the 10-year goals of the Muslim Brotherhood is to subvert the U.S. Constitution to sharia law."
Richardson (D-CA) 8/1: In support of H. Res. 742, condemning the Russian Federation for selling weapons to Syria
Graham (R-SC) 8/1: Accusing the White House of leaking info about cyber-attacks on Iran as part of effort to stop Israel from attacking Iran
Dreier (R-CA) 7/31: Speaking in support of a U.S.-Egypt free trade agreement
Cardin (D-MD) 7/30:  On Iran's responsibility for the Bulgaria attack
Smith (R-NJ) 7/30: State Dept Issues Annual International Religious Freedom Report - Smith Calls for Sanctions on Worst Violators (including Egypt)

6. From the Press

The Forward 8/3: Congress Does Kabuki Dance on Israel
Haaretz 8/2: U.S. Jewish groups slam Bachmann over 'witch hunt' against Muslim politician
JTA 8/1: Members of Congress file brief to support Jerusalem passport case
Mother Jones 7/31: Congress Wants to See Obama's "License to Kill"
The Cable 7/31: Romney and Rubio disagree on Syria
The Cable 7/30: Washington prepares to ramp up military cooperation with Tunisia
European Jewish press 7/29: American Conference of Presidents welcomes Obama's signing of US-Israel security legislation
YNet 7/29: US defense law to equip Israel with refueling jets
Haaretz 7/29: Obama's Israel security bill is mainly political and mostly redundant
White House 7/27: Fact Sheet: Advancing Israel's Security and Supporting Peace (on signing "United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012")