Lantos wants to kill Bush’s Iran waiver

U.S. Rep. Tom
Lantos (D-Calif.) introduced legislation that would keep the president
from waiving sanctions against Iran. “Until now, by shamelessly
exploiting its waiver authority and other flexibility in the law, the
Executive Branch has never sanctioned any foreign oil company which
invested in Iran,” the Jewish congressman said Thursday. Lantos chairs
the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “Those halcyon days for the oil
industry are over.” The bill is expected to garner strong
House support and activists attending next week’s American Israel
Public Affair Committee annual policy forum will lobby hard for it.
Bush and his predecessors have always maintained a right to waive
provisions of the law when it comes to foreign policy, citing the need
to make immediate decisions based on national security.