House Passes Bill Preventing Terrorists from Entering U.S. as U.N. Ambassadors
With Unanimous Congressional Support, Sen. Cruz, Rep. Lamborn Call for President Obama to Quickly Sign Into Law
WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Congressman Doug Lamborn, CO-05, today called for President Obama to immediately sign into law their bipartisan legislation that will prevent terrorists from getting visas to enter the United States as United Nations ambassadors.
“Congress has voted unanimously in support of a bill to reject Iran's deliberately insulting nomination of a known terrorist – one of the 1979 hostage-takers – to be their ambassador to the United Nations,” said Sen. Cruz. “I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for supporting it, and urge the President to act quickly. We, as a country, can send an unequivocal message to rogue nations like Iran that the United States will not tolerate this kind of provocative and hostile behavior."
“I have been working hard with House Leadership to move this bill even before it passed the Senate,” said Congressman Lamborn. “I appreciate House Leadership’s rapid response to my request to quickly bring the Cruz/Lamborn bill to the House Floor for a vote. It will give the President the power to prevent an Iranian terrorist from entering our country with diplomatic immunity. This is a great example of leadership in action by both Houses of Congress. After Senator Cruz worked to ensure Senate passage earlier in the week, I felt that it was extremely important that the House respond in-kind by considering the Cruz/Lamborn bill in an expedited manner. It is great to see Congress send a strong, bipartisan message that Iranian evildoers will be treated like terrorists, not tourists. Terrorists, from Iran or elsewhere, should not be allowed to walk the streets of Manhattan with diplomatic immunity.”
Congressman Lamborn’s bill, H.R. 4357, is companion legislation to Sen. Cruz’s bill, S. 2195, which unanimously passed the Senate earlier this week. The legislation now awaits President Obama’s signature to be put into law.
Recently, Iranian President Hasan Rouhani named Hamid Aboutalebi as the nation’s new ambassador to the U.N., which is headquartered in Manhattan. Aboutalebi was an active participant in the group that held 52 Americans hostage in Iran from 1979-1981.
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