Sun-Times: Berman Exposes Kirk’s Iran Sanctions Role “Exaggeration”

David Streeter — October 18, 2010 – 2:38 pm | Election 2010 | GOP Hypocrisies | Iran | Republicans Comments (0) Add a comment

According to reports in the Chicago Sun-Times, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Representative Howard Berman (D-CA) has exposed Illinois Senate candidate Representative Mark Kirk (R-IL) for embellishing his role in crafting Iran sanctions legislation. The Chicago Sun-Times reported:

Rep. Mark Kirk claims credit for being a driving force behind a bill signed into law this year that requires the president to crack down on companies doing business with Iran.

But the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Howard Berman, says Kirk is guilty of ‘exaggeration’ when he says the ‘Kirk bill’ became the ‘Berman bill’ so it could pass the Democratic Congress.

‘We didn’t even look at his legislation at the time,’ Berman said. ‘Our bill did so much more and went so far beyond his bill, I would have to put it in the context of an exaggeration.’

Berman said of Kirk’s contribution:

‘The bill that I was involved with, we didn’t even look at his legislation at the time. It was a much broader bill than his bill and, in fact, we were persuaded that while the refined petroleum sanctions were valuable and useful, Iran has a way of reducing its reliance on imported petroleum.’

The Sun-Times also asked:

Did Kirk ask Berman to use his bill as a template?

‘He never talked to me about taking his bill and doing anything with it,’ Berman said.

This appears to be the latest in a series of items that Kirk has apparently exaggerated. In June, Kirk received the “Pants on Fire” award from The Chicago Tribune for his other embellishments.

Click here to read the rest of the Sun-Times’ report.

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