UANI Calls on States and Municipalities to Pass Legislation Debarring Contractors Doing Business in Iran

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 14, 2011
Contact: Nathan Carleton, [email protected]
Phone: (212) 554-3296   

UANI Calls on States and Municipalities to Pass Legislation Debarring Contractors Doing Business in Iran

New York, NY - On Thursday, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) urged state and municipal legislatures to follow the lead of California and Florida in passing UANI model legislation barring companies which do business in Iran from receiving state contracts.

UANI wrote to Governors and legislative leaders of 48 states, urging them to take this meaningful and substantive action to pressure the Iranian regime.

California and Florida have already passed Iran debarment legislation, adapted from UANI model legislation. UANI unveiled the "Iran Business Certification Act" in June 2009, which shortly thereafter was introduced in U.S. Congress as the "Accountability for Business Choices in Iran Act."

As the Financial Times recently reported, California has been enforcing its law, the 2010 Iran Contracting Act, and has already succeeded in pressuring several multinational corporations to end their business in Iran.

Said UANI President, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace:

California and Florida have shown that State and Municipal Legislatures and Governors can play a major part in pressuring companies to end their business in Iran. Contract debarment can be a game changer in convincing businesses around the world to join the economic isolation of Iran, and it has already succeeded in pressuring several multinational corporations to end their business in Iran. The other 48 states can now pass UANI model legislation that will force companies to choose between receiving U.S. taxpayer money or funding the Iranian regime.

UANI looks forward to working with more states and municipalities to pass and enforce this legislation. By pressuring companies to pull out of Iran, states and municipalities can send a strong, unified message that the American people will not stand by idly as Iran continues to pursue nuclear weapons, kill U.S. soldiers on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, arm terrorists around the world, and abuse its own people.

Click here to send a message to your State Governor and Representatives.
Click here to read the letter sent to State Governors and Representatives.
Click here to visit UANI's Model Legislation homepage.
Click here to read UANI's new Iran Contracting Model Legislation on contract debarment.
Click here to read the Financial Times article, "California tightens screw on trade with Iran." 
 

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