A critical component of the
Administration's Iran policy is the support for indigenous Iranian
voices calling for freedom. The State Department has made the
awarding of grants for this purpose a key component of its Iran
policy. As a condition of licensing these activities, the Office of
Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has requested the Department of State
to follow certain procedures to effectuate these goals. The
licensing conditions mandate that the Department conduct a vetting
of potential Iran democracy grantees and sub-grantees for
counter-terrorism purposes. To conduct this vetting the Department
will collect information from grantees and sub-grantees regarding
the identity and background of their key employees and Boards of
Directors.
The use of normal
clearance procedures will prevent the Department from obtaining the
information needed to release funding for vital and urgent
democracy promotion grants regarding Iran on a timely basis. Public
harm is likely to result if normal clearance procedures are
followed because failure to finalize the Iran democracy promotion
grants within this month will adversely impact the Administrations
overall Iran policy. Iran continues to pursue a radical course
through its pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability, its notoriety
as the worlds leading supporter of terrorist groups, and its
deplorable treatment of its own people. These grant programs are a
critical component of the Administrations attempts to support the
Iranian people and a more open and free political process in order
shift Irans radical course. The political scene in Iran, which is
holding several sets of elections on December 15, is changing fast.
The awarding of these grants is part of ongoing efforts by the
United States and international community to press Iran to end its
pursuit of nuclear weapons capability, and stop its support of
terrorists in the region. A delay in providing approval for
sub-grants and for new grants will cause the United States to lose
time to affect Iranian policy.
US Code:
18 USC 2339A, 2339B Name of Law: null
EO: EO 13224 Name/Subject of EO: Executive Order on
Terrorist Financing
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.