BILL: Demand Your Reps Take Action on Iran - The MAHSA Act - H.R.589

Updated Sept. 12, 2023, 7:00 p.m. PST

• The MAHSA Act passed the House on Sept. 12., 2023

Updated March 1, 2023

• Over the past three months, more than one-hundred schoolgirls in Iran have been hospitalized with respiratory symptoms in a series of suspected poisonings.
• Dozens were admitted to the hospital during the most recent incident on Tuesday in the city of Qom, south of Tehran.
• Government officials said the attacks are believed to be a deliberate attempt to force the closure of girls’ schools.
• Deputy Health Minister Younes Panahi said,

“[T]he poisoning of students of Qom was intentional and caused by available chemical compounds. Some people wanted all schools to be closed, especially girls’ schools.”

• The poisonings began five months into the violent protests that engulfed Iran after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody. Girls and women have been at the forefront of both protests and activism.
• Human rights activists have compared the attacks to those carried out by the Taliban in Afghanistan and Boko Haram in the Sahel, who are violent opponents of female education.
• The former Iranian reformist vice-president Massoumeh Ebtekar said that authorities must, 

“[P]ut an end to misogynistic fanatics once and for all.”

The Bill

H.R.589- The MAHSA Act

Bill Details

• Sponsored by Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) on Oct. 21, 2022
• There are 33 current co-sponsors, including Democrats and Republicans.
• Introduced to the House: Oct. 21, 2022
• Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committees on the Judiciary, Financial Services, and Ways and Means on Oct. 21, 2022
• House and Senate: Not yet voted
• President: Not yet signed

Bill Overview

• The bipartisan bill would impose sanctions on the Supreme Leader of Iran, the President of Iran, and their respective offices because of their human rights abuses and support for terrorism.
• The act comes in response to the September 16, 2022, death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died after enduring a beating while detained by the Morality Police for violating the female dress code. The incident sparked protests for women’s rights and democracy in Iran’s 31 states.
• The Iranian regime cracked down against protesters, beating them, using indiscriminate force, and killing hundreds of civilians, including women and children.

What's in the Bill?

Imposes sanctions on Iran’s supreme leader and associated cabinets and individuals

• Enforces sanctions against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Ebrahim Raisi, and any member of their offices.
• It would also apply to any economic entities overseen by any offices that are involved in human rights abuses or terrorism and officials of those entities.

Calls attention to the corruption of Iran’s judiciary 

• The bill says that Iran’s judiciary “routinely hold grossly unfair trials without due process, handing down predetermined verdicts and rubberstamping executions for political purpose.”

Firmly acknowledges U.S. support of the people of Iran in their fight for human rights

• Pledges that the United States will stand with and support the people of Iran in their demand for fundamental human rights.
• The U.S. will hold leadership accountable for human rights abuses and terror.
• Supports a democratic and non-nuclear Republic of Iran

Lays out broad sanctions 

• Reiterates sanctions described in section 105(c) of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010, 22 U.S.C. 8514(c)
• Blocks property of people responsible for human rights abuses, for committing or threatening to commit terrorism, for support of terrorist organizations, and for corruption.
• The bill would also impose visa bans on corrupt Iranian elites and their immediate family members. 

What Supporters are Saying

• Sponsor Jim Banks said, “Regular Iranians like Mahsa Amini are being murdered and persecuted by the Iranian regime" and that,

"This bill is intended to hold the most malicious elements of Iran’s regime accountable for human rights abuses and conduct of terrorism while avoiding collateral damages on ordinary Iranians."

Do you support the MAHSA Act? Let your reps know

—Josh Herman & Emma Kansiz