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JCRC Leads Effort to Pass State Iran Contracting Disbarment Legislation

JCRC, working with the Jewish Federation of St. Joseph County and Northwest Indiana Jewish Federation, is leading a legislative effort to prevent the State of Indiana from providing contracts to companies who have ties to Iran's energy sector.  This legislation will ensure that state tax dollars do not go to support Iran's nuclear program or its efforts to continue to de-stabalize the Middle-East and support terrorist efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

January 18, 2012

Contact: Nathan Carleton, press@uani.com

Phone: (212) 554-3296       

United Against a Nuclear Iran (UANI) Applauds Indiana General Assembly for Introducing Iran Contract Debarment Law 

New York, NY - On Wednesday, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) applauded the Indiana General Assembly for introducing legislation that would bar companies doing business in Iran from receiving Indiana tax dollars.

UANI last year sent Indiana lawmakers a copy of UANI's model contracting legislation, as well as a letter urging them to introduce it in Indianapolis. Yesterday, UANI Executive Director David Ibsen testified before the Indiana State Senate in support of bill SB 231.

Bill 231 was introduced by Senator Thomas Wyss, Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, Transportation, & Veterans Affairs. Indiana is now set to join the states of California, Florida, and New York in barring companies that do business in Iran from receiving state contracts.

Said UANI President, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, who in August 2011 wrote the Op-Ed "Time Has Come for States to Take Strong Action on Iran": We are proud to have worked with state lawmakers and local leaders in Indiana including Marcia Goldstone, Debbie Barton Grant, and Michael Steinberg of the Jewish Federations of Indianapolis, South Bend, and Northwest Indiana, respectively, to introduce contract debarment legislation in Indiana. Absolutely no company that is active in Iran should be receiving American tax dollars, and this bill would affirm that. We urge members of Indiana's House and Senate to pass this bill, and for Governor Daniels to sign it into law. 

Indiana is set to join three other states in forcing corporations to choose between working with Iran's terroristic regime or with U.S. states. Faced with that choice, ethically and financially responsible firms will always make the right decision. By passing contract debarment laws, legislatures across America can join the worldwide movement to economically isolate the Iranian regime.

California, Florida, and New York 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 reported, California has been enforcing its law, the 2010 Iran Contracting Act, and has succeeded in pressuring several multinational corporations to end their business in Iran. Last year, the State of California published a list of companies now prohibited from doing business with California due to their work in Iran.