Washington, D.C.--Congressman Eliot Engel issued the following statement in support of H.R. 2194, the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act of 2009. Rep. Engel, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a co-sponsor of the legislation. This bill will increase leverage against Iran by penalizing companies that export refined petroleum products, such as gasoline, to Iran or finance Iran's domestic refining capabilities.

"The United States, our allies, and the United Nations Security Council have recognized that a nuclear-armed Iran would be a danger to our ally, Israel, the Middle East, and to the nuclear nonproliferation regime. A nuclear-armed Iran is simply unacceptable, and we must not stand for it."

“The Obama Administration should apply these additional sanctions to make absolutely clear to the Ahmadinejad regime that the world will not accept his nuclear ambitions," said Rep. Engel.

The measure passed the House by a vote of 412 to 12.

To view his remarks - http://engel.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=178&sectiontree=6,178

A full text of his remarks follows:

Madame Speaker,

I strongly support H.R. 2194, the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act of 2009, and am a proud cosponsor of this excellent bill which increases pressure on Iran to halt its pursuit of nuclear weapons. I would like to commend Chairman Berman for this thoughtful initiative.

Only a few short months ago, the world learned of the secret Iranian nuclear enrichment facility near the city of Qom. If there was ever any doubt that Iran was trying to build nuclear weapons, I believe that this revelation dispelled any shred of that doubt. The facility, kept secret from the International Atomic Energy Agency, was built deep in a mountain on a protected military base. This is how a country conceals a nuclear weapons program and defies UN Security Council resolutions, not how it develops peaceful energy technologies.

Although Iran is a leading producer of crude oil, it has limited refining capability. This bill will increase leverage against Iran by penalizing companies that export refined petroleum products to Iran or finance Iran's domestic refining capabilities. It is my hope that the Administration will apply these additional sanctions to make absolutely clear to the Ahmadinejad regime that the world will not accept his nuclear ambitions.

As Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, I would also like to raise one additional concern which arose at my October hearing on Iran’s role in the Western Hemisphere. Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez recently agreed to provide 20,000 barrels per day of refined gasoline to Iran. It is anyone’s guess as to whether this will ever be implemented, but the deal may be covered by the bill we are considering today. While some question whether Venezuela has the ability to provide gasoline to Iran since it imports some gasoline to meet its own domestic demand, President Chavez is clearly approaching a perilous area. I hope President Chavez reconsiders this unwise step.

The United States, our allies, and the United Nations Security Council have recognized that a nuclear-armed Iran would be a danger to our ally, Israel, the Middle East, and to the nuclear nonproliferation regime. A nuclear-armed Iran is simply unacceptable, and we must not stand for it. I, therefore, strongly support the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act and urge my colleagues to vote for the bill today.