Message to Congress -- Iran

TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:

Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), I hereby report that I have issued an Executive Order (the "order") that takes additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12957 of March 15, 1995, and implements certain statutory requirements of the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (subtitle D of title XII of Public Law 112-239) (22 U.S.C. 8801 et seq.) (IFCA), which amends the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-195) (22 U.S.C. 8501 et seq.) (CISADA).

In Executive Order 12957, the President found that the actions and policies of the Government of Iran threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. To deal with that threat, the President declared a national emergency and imposed prohibitions on certain transactions with respect to the development of Iranian petroleum resources. To further respond to that threat, Executive Order 12959 of May 6, 1995, imposed comprehensive trade and financial sanctions on Iran. Executive Order 13059 of August 19, 1997, consolidated and clarified the previous orders. To take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12957 and to implement section 105(a) of CISADA, I issued Executive Order 13553 on September 28, 2010, to impose sanctions on officials of the Government of Iran and other persons acting on behalf of the Government of Iran determined to be responsible for or complicit in certain serious human rights abuses.

To take additional steps with respect to the threat posed by Iran and to provide implementing authority for a number of the sanctions set forth in the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-172) (50 U.S.C. 1701 note) (ISA), as amended by CISADA, I issued Executive Order 13574 on May 23, 2011, to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to implement certain sanctions imposed by the Secretary of State pursuant to ISA, as amended by CISADA. I also issued Executive Order 13590 on November 20, 2011, to take additional steps with respect to this emergency by authorizing the Secretary of State to impose sanctions on persons providing certain goods, services, technology, or support that contribute either to Iran's development of petroleum resources or to Iran's production of petrochemicals, and to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to implement some of those sanctions. On February 5, 2012, in order to take further steps pursuant to this emergency, and to implement section 1245(c) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Public Law 112-81) (22 U.S.C. 8513a), I issued Executive Order 13599 blocking the property of the Government of Iran, all Iranian financial institutions, and persons determined to be owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, such parties. On April 22, 2012, and May 1, 2012, I issued Executive Orders 13606 and 13608, respectively. Executive Orders 13606 and 13608 each take additional steps with respect to various emergencies, including the emergency declared in Executive Order 12957 concerning Iran, to address the use of computer and information technology to commit serious human rights abuses and efforts by foreign persons to evade sanctions.

To take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12957, I issued Executive Order 13622 of July 30, 2012, imposing further sanctions in light of the Government of Iran's use of revenues from petroleum, petroleum products, and petrochemicals for illicit purposes; Iran's continued attempts to evade international sanctions through deceptive practices; and the unacceptable risk posed to the international financial system by Iran's activities.

Most recently, I issued Executive Order 13628 of October 9, 2012, to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12957 and to implement certain statutory requirements of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-158) (22 U.S.C. 8701 et seq.) (TRA), including its amendments to the statutory requirements of ISA and CISADA.

With respect to the order that I have just issued, section 1 of the order authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to impose financial sanctions on or to block all property and interests in property that are in the United States, that come within the United States, or that are or come within the possession or control of any United States person (including any foreign branch) of a foreign financial institution determined to have, on or after the effective date of the order:

• knowingly conducted or facilitated any significant transaction related to the purchase or sale of Iranian rials or a derivative, swap, future, forward, or other similar contract whose value is based on the exchange rate of the Iranian rial; or

• maintained significant funds or accounts outside the territory of Iran denominated in the Iranian rial.

Section 2 of the order authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to block all property and interests in property that are in the United States, that come within the United States, or that are or come within the possession or control of any United States person (including any foreign branch) of any person upon determining:

• that the person has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, any Iranian person included on the list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (SDN List) (other than an Iranian depository institution whose property and interests in property are blocked solely pursuant to Executive Order 13599) or any other person included on the SDN List whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this paragraph or Executive Order 13599 (other than an Iranian depository institution whose property and interests in property are blocked solely pursuant to Executive Order 13599); or

• pursuant to authority delegated by the President and in accordance with the terms of such delegation, that sanctions shall be imposed on such person pursuant to section 1244(c)(1)(A) of IFCA.

Section 3 of the order authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to impose financial sanctions on a foreign financial institution determined to have knowingly conducted or facilitated any significant financial transaction:

• on behalf of any Iranian person included on the SDN List (other than an Iranian depository institution whose property and interests in property are blocked solely pursuant to Executive Order 13599) or any other person included on the SDN List whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to subsection 2(a)(i) of the order or Executive Order 13599 (other than an Iranian depository institution whose property and interests in property are blocked solely pursuant to Executive Order 13599); or

• on or after the effective date of the order, for the sale, supply, or transfer to Iran of significant goods or services used in connection with the automotive sector of Iran.

Section 5 of the order authorizes the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the United States Trade Representative, and with the President of the Export-Import Bank, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and other agencies and officials as appropriate, to impose sanctions on a person upon determining that the person:

• on or after the effective date of the order, knowingly engaged in a significant transaction for the sale, supply, or transfer to Iran of significant goods or services used in connection with the automotive sector of Iran;

• is a successor entity to a person determined to meet that criterion;

• owns or controls a person determined to meet that criterion, and had knowledge that the person engaged in the activities referred to therein; or

• is owned or controlled by, or under common ownership or control with, a person determined to meet that criterion, and knowingly participated in the activities therein.

Sections 6 and 7 of the order provide that, for persons determined to meet any of these criteria, the heads of the relevant agencies, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall implement the sanctions imposed by the Secretary of State. Those sanctions may include the following actions:

• the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank shall deny approval of the issuance of any guarantee, insurance, extension of credit, or participation in an extension of credit in connection with the export of any goods or services to the sanctioned person;

• agencies shall not issue any specific license or grant any other specific permission or authority under any statute that requires the prior review and approval of the United States Government as a condition for the export or reexport of goods or technology to the sanctioned person;

• for a sanctioned person that is a financial institution: the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shall take such actions as they deem appropriate, including denying designation, or terminating the continuation of any prior designation of, the sanctioned person as a primary dealer in United States Government debt instruments; or agencies shall prevent the sanctioned person from serving as an agent of the United States Government or serving as a repository for United States Government funds;

• agencies shall not procure, or enter into a contract for the procurement of, any goods or services from the sanctioned person;

• the Secretary of State shall deny a visa to, and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall exclude from the United States, any alien that the Secretary of State determines is a corporate officer or principal of, or a shareholder with a controlling interest in, a sanctioned person;

• the heads of the relevant agencies, as appropriate, shall impose on the principal executive officer or officers, or persons performing similar functions and with similar authorities, of a sanctioned person any of the sanctions described above, as selected by the Secretary of State;

• the Secretary of the Treasury shall take actions where necessary to:

o prohibit any United States financial institution from making loans or providing credits to the sanctioned person totaling more than $10,000,000 in any 12-month period, unless such person is engaged in activities to relieve human suffering and the loans or credits are provided for such activities;

o prohibit any transactions in foreign exchange that are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and in which the sanctioned person has any interest;

o prohibit any transfers of credit or payments between financial institutions or by, through, or to any financial institution, to the extent that such transfers or payments are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and involve any interest of the sanctioned person;

o block all property and interests in property that are in the United States, that come within the United States, or that are or come within the possession or control of any United States person, (including any foreign branch) of the sanctioned person, and provide that such property and interests in property may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in;

o prohibit any United States person from investing in or purchasing significant amounts of equity or debt instruments of a sanctioned person;

o restrict or prohibit imports of goods, technology, or services, directly or indirectly, into the United States from the sanctioned person; or

o impose on the principal executive officer or officers, or persons performing similar functions and with similar authorities, of a sanctioned person any of the sanctions described above, as appropriate.

Section 7 of the order also provides that, when the Secretary of State or the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to authority delegated by the President and in accordance with the terms of such delegation, has determined that sanctions shall be imposed on a person pursuant to sections 1244(d)(1)(A), 1245(a)(1), or 1246(a)(1) of IFCA (including in each case as informed by section 1253(c)(2) of IFCA), such Secretary may select one or more of the sanctions described above for which the Secretary of the Treasury shall take such action, and the Secretary of the Treasury shall take actions where necessary to implement those sanctions.

Sections 8 and 11 of the order implement the statutory requirements of CISADA, as amended by section 1249 of IFCA. They authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to block all property and interests in property that are in the

United States, that come within the United States, or that are or come within the possession or control of any United States person (including any foreign branch), and the Secretary of State to suspend entry into the United States, of persons determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with or at the recommendation of the Secretary of State:

• to have engaged, on or after January 2, 2013, in corruption or other activities relating to the diversion of goods, including agricultural commodities, food, medicine, and medical devices, intended for the people of Iran;

• to have engaged, on or after January 2, 2013, in corruption or other activities relating to the misappropriation of proceeds from the sale or resale of goods described above;

• to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the activities described above or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to these provisions; or

• to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to these provisions.

I have delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury the authority, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA, as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the order, other than the purposes described in sections 5, 6, and 11 of the order. All agencies of the United States Government are directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of the order.

The order, a copy of which is enclosed, becomes effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on July 1, 2013.

BARACK OBAMA

Statement by the Press Secretary on H.R. 258 and S. 982

On Monday, June 3, 2013, the President signed into law:

H.R. 258, the "Stolen Valor Act of 2013," which makes it a Federal crime for an individual to fraudulently hold oneself out to be a recipient of any of several specified military decorations or medals with the intent to obtain money, property, or other tangible benefit; and

S. 982, the "Freedom to Fish Act," which prohibits the Army Corps of Engineers from taking certain actions to establish restricted areas that prevent public access to waters downstream of dams and other civil works structures in the Cumberland River basin.

FACT SHEET: President Obama Applauds Commitments to Raise Awareness and Increase Understanding of Mental Health at White House Conference

Today, at the National Conference on Mental Health, the President applauded the dozens of commitments made by organizations representing media, educators, health care providers, faith communities, and foundations to increase understanding and awareness of mental health.

The Obama Administration has taken a number of steps to raise awareness and improve care for Americans experiencing mental health issues, including expanding mental health coverage for millions of Americans through the Affordable Care Act, improving access to mental health services for veterans and supporting initiatives to help educators recognize and refer students who show signs of mental illness.

The National Conference on Mental Health is designed to increase understanding and awareness of mental health. As part of this effort, today the Administration is launching mentalhealth.gov, a new, consumer-friendly website with clear and concise tools to help with the basics of mental health, the signs of mental illness, how to talk about mental health, and how to get help. The website also includes a series of videos featuring celebrities and ordinary Americans whose lives have been touched by mental illness.
Recognizing that the government cannot do this alone, the Administration applauds commitments from private sector and non-profit organizations, including in five key areas: 

1) Launching new efforts to raise public awareness through television, radio, social media campaigns, and other platforms.

Commitments include:

• The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), representing local television and radio stations and broadcast networks throughout the country, is creating a national public service campaign to reduce the stigma around mental illness. The multiplatform campaign, launching this summer, will include TV and radio ads, online ads and resources and a robust social media platform to raise awareness – specifically among 13-24 year olds, their friends and caregivers – that it’s okay to talk about mental health and help is available. 

• Blue Star Families, a non-profit organization created by military families to strengthen military families and connect America to her military, is producing a second series of public service announcements entitled “This Country Cares,” featuring country music stars telling our military heroes with mental health problems that they are not alone and encouraging them to seek help if they are struggling with these issues. 

• As part of their Love is Louder campaign, MTV and The Jed Foundation will promote help seeking and challenge the stigma surrounding mental health by encouraging members of MTV’s audience to take any action that supports their or a friend’s emotional health, and then share that action with @LoveisLouder. MTV will amplify the best responses through several of its social media channels, which in total reach nearly 160 million fans and followers.

• The Entertainment Software Association and leading video game companies Activision Blizzard, Inc., Activision Publishing, Inc., Bethesda Softworks, Blizzard Entertainment Inc., and Microsoft Corporation will promote consumer resources for mental health and wellness information through their consumer web sites and online communities, which reach tens of millions of people every month. 

• Other organizations committing to help raise awareness through television, film, and social media include the Entertainment Industries Council, Facebook, Google, SchoolTube, and Twitter. 

2) Teaching students about mental health and helping adults who work with youth recognize early signs of mental health problems and refer kids to treatment.

Commitments include:

• The National Association of Secondary School Principals has called on its 25,000 members -- middle and high school principals and assistant principals from across the country -- to hold an assembly on mental health awareness by the end of 2013.

• The National Parent Teacher Association is partnering with the National Association of School Psychologists to host a webinar for their members regarding mental health awareness. Topics will include how parents can talk to their children about mental health in an age-appropriate manner and start a dialogue on mental health in their children’s schools or in PTA meetings.

• The National Association of School Nurses, which represents almost 16,000 nurses serving in schools nationwide, is developing a new online continuing education program on behavioral health for school nurses and sending its members an evidence-based checklist of steps to identify early signs of mental health problems and refer students and their families to treatment if needed.

• YMCA of the USA and the American Psychological Association will work together to develop educational tools and resources to help 18,000 full-time Y staff, as well as 49,000 summer employees who work with youth, to identify the signs of depression and other mental health problems in youth and refer them to appropriate resources. Each year, YMCAs serve about 9 million kids through programs like childcare, afterschool, summer camps, and more. 

• Other organizations making commitments to talk with young people about mental health or educate the adults who work with them include the American Council on Education, American Federation of Teachers, American Psychological Association, American School Counselor Association, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, National Association of School Psychologists, National Education Association, National Panhellenic Conference, North American Interfraternity Conference, School Social Work Association of America, and Skype in the classroom.

3) Giving health care providers the tools they need to screen for mental health problems and encouraging them to lead efforts to raise awareness in their communities.

Commitments include:

• In a new effort, the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association are partnering to disseminate educational materials developed by the APA to help physicians in all specialties better integrate mental health screenings into their practices, reduce misperceptions of mental illness, and direct patients to additional mental health services when needed.

• The National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems is developing and disseminating to its members materials that encourage them to promote access to mental health services and work in their hospital systems to decrease misconceptions about mental illness. Additionally, NAPH is working with its members to host a series of roundtables to engage communities across the country in conversations about mental health.

• Other organizations committing to disseminate information to their members or encourage them to lead new conversations in their communities include the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Hospital Association, the American Psychological Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Children’s Hospital Association, the Federation of American Hospitals, the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, and the National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems.

4) Convening experts, philanthropic and civic leaders to identify innovative ways to reduce negative attitudes and perceptions about mental illness and improve access to treatment at the local level.

Commitments include:

• Civic leaders across the country are joining with philanthropic partners to host community conversations moderated by trained, neutral facilitators to discuss how to raise awareness of mental health and make sure others in their communities get the help they need. The first community conversations will take place in Sacramento, Birmingham, Albuquerque, Kansas City and Washington, D.C.  To help raise the profile of these conversations, the National Football League will send former players trained in responding to mental health issues to participate.

• Give an Hour will lead a collaborative initiative with America’s Promise Alliance, the Aspen Institute, the Case Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative to identify successful community-based models of prevention and intervention that have been shown to improve mental health and psychological well-being, and develop a comprehensive strategy for broader adoption of these effective models. They will start by convening veterans and their families, as well as traditional veterans’ service organizations and other groups that provide mental health services to this population, to discuss best practices for reaching out to veterans and their families about mental health.

5) Launching new conversations in our houses of worship and other faith-based institutions to help people recognize mental health problems and access the treatment they need.

Faith groups from across the country have committed to launch new conversations on mental health by taking steps such as:

• Including a message about mental health in a worship service or other event, and providing congregants with bulletin inserts on mental health issues.
• Developing and disseminating toolkits with resources such as discussion starters to help members continue the conversation about mental health outside of worship services.
• Organizing a session on mental health awareness at an upcoming national conference.

Denominations and faith groups that  are pledging to take action in their community as part of a national dialogue include:  African Methodist Episcopal Church Connectional Health Commission; American Association of Pastoral Counselors; American Muslim Health Professionals; Catholic Charities USA; Church of God in Christ; Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Interfaith Network on Mental Illness; Islamic Relief USA; Lutheran Services in America; National Baptist Convention, USA, Incorporated; National Episcopal Health Ministries; Pathways to Promise; The Potter’s House; Progressive National Baptist Convention; The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; The Samaritan Institute; Seventh-Day Adventist Church – North American Division; Sikh Council on Religion and Education; United Church of Christ; United Methodist Church; United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

For a complete list of commitments from private sector and non-profit groups, click HERE.

Weekly Address: Congress Should Take Action to Continue Growing the Economy

WASHINGTON, DC— In this week’s address, President Obama said that the economy is moving in the right direction, but there is still more work to do.  He called on Congress to act to give every responsible homeowner the chance to save money on their mortgage by refinancing at historically low interest rates, put more Americans to work rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, and fix our broken immigration system, so that we can continue to grow our economy and create good middle class jobs.  

The audio of the address and video of the address will be available online at www.whitehouse.gov at 6:00 a.m. ET, June 1, 2013.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
June 1, 2013

Hi, everybody.  Over the past four and a half years, we’ve been fighting our way back from an economic crisis and punishing recession that cost millions of Americans their jobs, their homes, and the sense of security they’d worked so hard to build. 

And thanks to the grit and determination of the American people, our businesses have now created nearly 7 million new jobs over the past 38 months.

An auto industry that was flatlining is once again the heartbeat of American manufacturing – with Americans buying more cars than we have in five years.

Within the next few months, we’re projected to begin producing more of our own crude oil at home than we buy from other countries – the first time that’s happened in 16 years.

Deficits that were growing for years are now shrinking at the fastest rate in decades.  The rise of health care costs is slowing, too.

And a housing market that was in tatters is showing new signs of real strength.  Sales are rising.  Foreclosures are declining.  Construction is expanding.  And home prices that are rising at the fastest rate in nearly seven years are helping a lot of families breathe a lot easier. 

Now we need to do more. 

This week, my administration announced that we’re extending a program to help more responsible families modify their mortgages so they can stay in their homes. 

But to keep our housing market and our economy growing, Congress needs to step up and do its part.  Members of Congress will be coming back next week for an important month of work.  We’ve got to keep this progress going until middle-class families start regaining that sense of security.  And we can’t let partisan politics get in the way.

Congress should pass a law giving every responsible homeowner the chance to save about $3,000 a year on their mortgage by refinancing at historically low interest rates. 

Congress should put more Americans to work rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, like the one that collapsed last week in Washington state.  We’d all be safer, and the unemployment rate would fall faster.

And Congress should fix our broken immigration system by passing commonsense reform that continues to strengthen our borders; holds employers accountable; provides a pathway to earned citizenship; and also modernizes our legal immigration system so that we’re reuniting families and attracting the highly-skilled entrepreneurs and engineers who will help our economy grow. 

So there are a lot of reasons to feel optimistic about where we’re headed as a country – especially after all we’ve fought through together.  We’ve just got to keep going.  Because we’ve got more good jobs to create.  We’ve got more kids to educate.  We’ve got more doors of opportunity to open for anyone who’s willing to work hard enough to walk through those doors.

And if we work together, I’m as confident as I’ve ever been that we’ll get to where we need to be.

Thanks and have a great weekend.