Cruz, McCaul seek terrorist status for Iranian Guard
In this picture taken on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008, Iranian Revolutionary Guards members march during a parade ceremony. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Cruz, McCaul seek terrorist status for Iranian Guard
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, introduced legislation Tuesday asking the State Department to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization, and to explain in testimony to Congress why if it decides against making that designation.
Similar legislation was introduced in the House by Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.
"For more than three decades, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been a leading proponent of radical Islamic terrorism around the globe," Cruz said in a release.
"The IRGC is connected to multiple terrorist attacks killing American military personnel and our allies, including the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia, the 1994 attack on the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, and the bombings of the U.S. Embassy … in Beirut in 1983 and 1984," the release said.
The timing of the bill is motivated by the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran. Though that deal unwinds sanctions on Iran related to nuclear proliferation, legislators like Cruz and McCaul want to ensure continued pressure on Iran in the areas of terrorism and human rights, said McCaul's legislative director Andy Taylor.
Iran is officially still listed as a state sponsor of terror along with Syria and Sudan, and will remain so after the nuclear deal is implemented. But the IRGC has escaped being designated as an foreign terrorist organization.
"The president claims that sanctions against Iran for its support for terrorism will continue to be enforced in spite of his deal to lift sanctions on the Ayatollah's nuclear program," McCaul said in a release. "Designating Iran's IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization would go a long way in demonstrating that the President is truly committed to combatting Iranian terror."
TOPICS
Dem proposes secret ballot Speaker election
Rep. Brad Ashford, D-Neb., has a novel idea for the upcoming Speaker election: restore the secret ballot.
"The U.S. House of Representatives conducted leadership elections by secret ballot before 1839," a release from Ashford said.
"The election of the Speaker of the House should be about who is most fit to lead this body and most able to build consensus. That is how we do it in Nebraska," said Ashford, who submitted a bill to that effect this week.
The apparent motivation behind the procedural change is to encourage bipartisanship, a core value Ashford acts upon literally. Ashford has alternated between Republican, Democrat, and Independent throughout his political career. He was elected to the U.S. House in 2013 as a Democrat.
Such a new rule could have varying effects, however. Under the current process, which will be seen next week when Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., runs for speaker, members stand and announce who they support.
A secret ballot could favor insurgent candidates of all stripes. It could also let members vote for their party's non-preferred candidate, which could remove the threat of stripped committee assignments, pulled fundraising, and other leadersip efforts that usually dissuade certain members from voting against the presumed front-runner.
"No one should cast their vote for speaker based on the fear of retribution of party bosses, or hyper-partisan special interests," Ashford said.
"There have been widely documented accounts of retribution in the House due to previous elections for Speaker," his release added.
TOPICS
