To amend the preamble.

1. Rewrites preamble

   Replaces

   Removes preamble.

   Inserted: Whereas democracy, human rights, and civil liberties are universal values and fundamental principles of the foreign policy of the United States;

   Inserted: Whereas an essential element of democratic self-government is for leaders to be chosen and regularly held accountable through elections that are organized and conducted in a manner that is free, fair, inclusive, and consistent with international standards;

   Inserted: Whereas governments in which power does not derive from free and fair elections lack democratic legitimacy;

   Inserted: Whereas elections in Iran are marred by the disqualification of candidates based on their political views, the absence of credible international observers, widespread intimidation and repression of candidates, political parties, and citizens, and systemic electoral fraud and manipulation;

   Inserted: Whereas elections in Iran consistently involve severe restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly, and association, including censorship, surveillance, disruptions in telecommunications, and the absence of a free media;

   Inserted: Whereas the current president of Iran came to office through an election on June 12, 2009, that was widely condemned in Iran and throughout the world as neither free nor fair and provoked large-scale peaceful protests throughout Iran;

   Inserted: Whereas authorities in Iran continue to hold several candidates from the 2009 election under house arrest;

   Inserted: Whereas the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran banned more than 2,200 candidates from participating in the March 2, 2012, parliamentary elections and refused to allow domestic or international election observers to oversee those elections;

   Inserted: Whereas the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran seeks to prevent the people of Iran from accessing news and information by disrupting access to the Internet, including blocking e-mail and social networking sites, limiting access to foreign news and websites, and developing a national Internet that will facilitate government censorship of news and information, and by jamming international broadcasts such as the Voice of America Persian News Network and Radio Farda, a Persian language broadcast of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty;

   Inserted: Whereas authorities in Iran have announced that a presidential election will be held on June 14, 2013; and

   Inserted: Whereas the Guardian Council and the Supreme Leader of Iran have blocked numerous candidates from participating in the June 14, 2013, presidential election: Now, therefore be it

   Original wording

   Strike the preamble and insert the following:

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As printed