Kirk, Rubio Introduce Bill to Prohibit Iranian Access to U.S. Dollars

Press Release

U.S. Senators Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) today introduced the Preventing Iran's Access to United States Dollars Act of 2016 (S. 2752), a bill to prohibit indirect Iranian access to the U.S. financial system and to transactions in dollars outside of the U.S. financial system, following reports that the Administration plans to help the country illicitly access U.S. dollars.

Iran is already prohibited from direct and indirect financial transactions with the U.S. financial system, and S. 2752 further blocks indirect access by prohibiting the President from issuing any license for conducting an offshore U.S. dollar clearing system for Iranian transactions or for providing any such system with U.S. dollars. The legislation also imposes secondary sanctions on any financial institution found to be participating in an offshore U.S. dollar clearing system involving Iran. It also clarifies that existing law, including the Menendez-Kirk amendment to FY2012 National Defense Authorization Act, prohibits transactions involving indirect access to the U.S. financial system.

"The United States should not green light the greenback for the Iranian regime's terrorists and financial criminals," Senator Kirk said. "Giving Iran access to dollarized transactions outside the U.S. financial system would benefit Iran's financiers of international terrorism, human rights abuses, and ballistic missile threats while also ignoring the Treasury Department's finding under the USA PATRIOT Act's Section 311 that Iran's entire financial sector is a jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern, as well as the Financial Action Task Force's ongoing calls for countermeasures to protect international financial sectors from Iran's terrorist financing."

"The Iranian regime has failed to prevent rampant money laundering and has continued to finance terrorist organizations and expand its ballistic missile program, showing a blatant disregard for U.S. sanctions and the integrity of the international financial system," Rubio said. "Iranian access to U.S. dollars or the U.S. financial system, whether direct or indirect, will only further support these threatening and destabilizing activities."

"Rather than helping Iran circumvent existing U.S. law, the Obama Administration should be increasing pressure on Iran's leaders to halt their provocative behavior and threats against Israel," Rubio continued. "The administration needs to stop moving the goalposts with Congress and the American people on this vital issue of national security. This legislation makes clear that helping the Iranian regime indirectly gain access to U.S. dollars is strictly prohibited and punishable by law."

Last month, Senators Kirk and Rubio sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew expressing their concerns about granting Iran access to the U.S. financial system and requesting assurances that the United States will not work on behalf of Iran to enable Iranian access to U.S. dollars elsewhere in the international financial system.

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