The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“WORLD BANK PLANS MORE LOANS TO IRAN” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H2931-H2932 on May 22, 2002.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
{time} 2215
WORLD BANK PLANS MORE LOANS TO IRAN
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Issa). Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, yesterday evening I came to the floor to bring up a subject that has gotten far less attention than it deserves. And that is the plan of the World Bank, an organization funded substantially with your tax dollars in mind, to lend up to $755 million to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Last night I put into the Record of this House an article that was published by the Dow Jones International News that reviewed the facts, and I would like to review that article with you tonight along with some additional commentary.
The article begins: ``The World Bank undeterred by President George W. Bush's condemnation of Iran as part of the axis of evil, undeterred by the fact that it is arming itself to threaten a peaceful world, the World Bank is pressing ahead with a plan that would provide as much as
$755 million in loans to that government over the next 2 years.''
Mr. Speaker, there are a few apologists for the government in Iran who note that there are reformers who play front roles, a president of Iran who exercises no power, it is almost an honorary position, who claims to have different views than those actually carried out by the government. But the reports of the American State Department say that reformers have been silenced, that there are public executions, public floggings which increased last year. And just on Monday the State Department announced that Iran is the number one governmental sponsor of terrorism.
Now, in January President Bush identified Iran as a key threat to American security. But as he was doing that, a team of bank directors from the World Bank returned from a visit to Tehran, and they made a clear recommendation to the bank, ``deeper and faster involvement in Iran.'' That is the quotation attributed to Jean-Louis Sarbib, the bank's vice president for Middle Eastern and North African affairs.
Now, the bank staff is reported by the Dow Jones International News to be planning first a loan of $150 million by the end of this year, and then as an element of a tentative plan, endorsed already by the bank's board of directors, the bank would proceed with up to $755 million to Iran in fiscal years 2002 and 2003.
Now, keep in mind the United States contributes 29 percent of the World Bank's capital. We are given only 16 percent of the World's votes. But do not believe that our 16 percent of votes will be sufficient to block this loan, because 2 years ago the World Bank over America's strenuous objections loaned $232 million to Iran. And let us not believe that this is just for humanitarian purposes. Because as the article continues, and I am quoted in the article as saying, and I think I said it right, ``The government of Iran will engage in the minimum domestic expenditures necessary to cling to power. Whatever is left over they are going to spend on terrorism and nuclear weapons.'' When the World Bank finances those minimum amounts of expenditure that the Iranian Government needs to hold on to power, it is freeing up oil revenues for terrorism and for a nuclear weapons program. It will certainly not be sufficient for us to do business as usual and to simply vote against these loans.
That is why, Mr. Speaker, I hope that others will join me in crafting legislation that I am working on now and will present to this House just as soon as we return from Memorial Day. And under that legislation we would draw a line in the sand and tell the World Bank that if they approve any additional loans to Iran that no additional American money would be given to that bank.
We are planning to give them $877 million. We should not give them a penny after any day when they approve a loan to Iran.
____________________
