UANI Applauds State of Maryland for Unanimously Passing Iran Debarment Legislation

April 9, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 9, 2012
Contact: Nathan Carleton,[email protected]
Phone: (212) 554-3296

UANI Applauds State of Maryland for Unanimously Passing Iran Debarment Legislation

New York, NY - United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) applauded the State of Maryland for unanimously passing legislation this weekend to bar companies active in Iran from doing business with the State of Maryland.

The legislation was originally sponsored by Governor Martin O'Malley earlier this year. UANI last year sent Governor O'Malley a copy of UANI's model contracting legislation, as well as a letter urging him to introduce it in Annapolis.

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 applaud the State of Maryland for passing this legislation. No business that is active in Iran should be receiving U.S. tax dollars, and this law will force companies to choose between the Iranian regime and Maryland taxpayers.

U.S. states can play a significant role in imposing the most robust sanctions in history against the brutal Iranian regime--sanctions which are already having a real impact. We encourage state governments to continue to force the hand of companies that try to do business with both Iran and U.S. states.

Maryland joins California, Florida, New York, and Indiana in passing 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 last year, California's debarment law, the 2010 Iran Contracting Act, has succeeded in pressuring multinational corporations to end their business in Iran. The State of California publishes a list of companies prohibited from doing business with California due to their work in Iran.

Click here to view UANI's State Certification map.
Click here to visit UANI's model legislation home page.
Click here to read Ambassador Wallace's Op-Ed, "Time Has Come for States to Take Strong Action on Iran." 

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