Foreign Policy

House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Howard Berman (D-Calif.) says passage of a bill allowing Israeli investors to travel to the United States will help create jobs in the United States, and praised the Senate for passing it Thursday night.

"This bill sends enterprising Israeli investors a clear and unambiguous message: the United States is open for business," Berman said. "The expansion of Israeli enterprises here will result in job creation for American workers."

Supporters say the Startup Act 2.0 will help ensure the global competitiveness of American companies.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) said Tuesday that the House would push for tougher Iran sanctions language than what the Senate approved on Monday.

"I am gratified that the Senate finally passed its Iran sanctions legislation, although I am concerned that the legislation is not strong enough," she said. "I look forward to convening a House-led conference that will afford members from both sides of the aisle in both chambers the opportunity to further strengthen the legislation and get it to the president's desk for signature as soon as possible."

Two House Republicans have put forward a bill that would block funding for or implementation of a United Nations treaty they fear could interfere with the Second Amendment right of Americans.

"The Second Amendment is an individual constitutional right and we must never allow that right to be trampled on by an international treaty," Rep. Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.) said Monday. "This U.N. treaty is a direct threat to American sovereignty and the constitutional rights of all Americans.

Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) have proposed legislation that would increase fines against American companies doing business in Iran, and use half of the penalties collected to repay the families of the 66 Americans held hostage in Iran in 1979.

Braley said his Justice for the American Diplomats Held Hostage in Tehran act is needed because the 1981 agreement that freed the hostages blocked them from suing Iran for damages.

In a series of quick votes, the House approved a resolution stressing the importance of keeping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and a bill extending the federal flood insurance program.

Members approved the Iran resolution, H.Res. 568, in a 401-11 vote. Nine members voted "present" on this resolution, which was debated on Wednesday.

The bill is identical to Clinton-Obama legislation questioning Bush's declaration of cooperation with Iraq without congressional approval.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is working with the chamber's Republicans to pass an Iran sanctions package on Thursday. 

Reid is expected to ask unanimous consent on the Johnson-Shelby Iran sanctions bill that includes economic and oil sanctions as an avenue to pressure Iran to ditch its nuclear program, according to a Democratic aide. 

A Republican aide told The Hill that a final agreement is still in the works. 

The legislation includes part of an amendment that Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) had lobbied to include. The provision is aimed at strengthening sanctions "against companies that engage in or support censorship in Iran." 

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) on Wednesday night blasted the Obama administration's decision to continue borrowing billions of dollars from China, and giving hundreds of millions of dollars back to China through environmental and other development grants.

On the House floor, Rohrabacher said this policy is only helping the U.S. go bankrupt faster, and at the same time is aiding a government that sees the U.S. as an enemy.

The House on Tuesday evening debated two bills aimed at reinforcing U.S. policy to deny Iran nuclear weapons capability, and bolstering human rights in in North Korea.

Members debated H.Res. 568, which expresses the sense of the House about the importance of denying Iran nuclear weapons, and were poised to approve that resolution later in the week. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) said the resolution helps draw attention to the fact that Iran continues to threaten peace in the Middle East.