Democracy Bill for Iran Gains Support in the U.S. House of Representatives

The Iran Democracy Bill is a legislative proposal that discusses a replacement government in Iran and calls for the establishment of freedom, democracy, and human rights in Iran. The bill was introduced on May 19 after being presented by Republican members from Kansas - Sam Brownback and John Cornyn from Texas - at a press conference, and was subsequently submitted to the U.S. Senate for review by the Foreign Relations Committee. In a new development, Brad Sherman, a Democratic Congressman from California, has introduced his own bill titled the 'Iran Freedom and Democracy Support Act' in support of this legislation. Sherman, who is also a senior member of the International Relations Committee and subcommittees on global terrorism, non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and human rights, has added several provisions to his proposal. The aim of this bill is to promote and encourage democratic reforms in Iran and to strengthen U.S. policy towards the Iranian regime. In the introduction to his bill, he justifies his support for the Iran Democracy Bill in the Senate by stating: 'As you know, the repressive regime in Tehran is dangerously close to producing nuclear weapons. This regime has also sheltered Al-Qaeda terrorists and supports terrorism, and has a dismal record of human rights violations in Iran.' The Iran Freedom and Democracy Act, introduced by Sherman, also differs from Senator Brownback's bill in that it allocates part of the World Bank loans intended for Iran to combat AIDS. Additionally, this bill requests that the U.S. President report to Congress on instances of Iran sheltering members of the Al-Qaeda terrorist network.