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Washington, DC - The Senate Banking Committee yesterday approved a new Iran sanctions bill sponsored by Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Richard Shelby (R-AL) called the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2008.

The bill was introduced this week after a jurisdictional battle with Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) over his sanctions bill, S. 3227.  Both the Banking and Foreign Relations Committees also claimed jurisdiction, but the bill was marked up by Baucus' Finance Committee and immediately placed on the Senate calendar.  This prompted Sen. Dodd to draft his own sanctions bill.

During yesterday's markup, Sen. Dodd's proposal for tougher sanctions was approved by a vote of 19-2.  Specifically, the new package will expand the scope of current sanctions to include financial institutions, insurers, export credit agencies and others.  Additionally, the bill codifies existing US export bans on goods destined for Iran, though it does provide exceptions for food, medicine, humanitarian assistance, and civilian aircraft parts.  It also seeks to punish companies that maintain business dealings with Iran and encourage divestment from them.

Senator Dodd also included language to strengthen export controls on states designated trans-shipment points for illicit trade to Iran--for example Dubai.

Under the new bill, the President has the authority to waive all applicable sanctions if he determines that it would be in the national interest of the United States.

Notably absent from this most recent bill were a number of provisions that have stirred controversy in other sanctions proposals submitted in recent months, making it more palatable to many Senators.  In particular, the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2008 lacks a provision blocking a proposed nuclear agreement with Russia that was included in S. 3227.  That provision has drawn strong opposition from the Bush Administration, which has hinted that it may even consider vetoing the 2009 Defense Authorization bill, S. 3001, if it includes language blocking the Russia deal. 

Now that both Senate sanctions bills have passed their respective committees, Senators Dodd, Shelby, Baucus, and others will confer on the differences between the two bills.  Most likely, the final compromise will be attached as an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill.  However, Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-Ill) said that the Senate appears unlikely to consider the bill in the remaining two weeks before the August recess.  That would leave only three weeks in September to pass the bill before Congress adjourns on Sep. 26^th.