Fact Check: Support for $5 billion in Iran aid isn't holding up additional stimulus money
The claim: Democrats held up negotiations for more small-business aid over a $5 billion request to help Iran in the coronavirus pandemic
A viral Facebook post April 12 by Denette King claimed, "Democrats demand 5 billion for Iran or they won't agree on aid for small businesses in U.S. Is that a quid pro quo, or treason?"
The subject of the post has been covered on several subjective blogs and newsletters, including a post April 11 on Law Enforcement Today. That newsletter is administered and owned by law enforcement officers, according to its Facebook page.
"An American Senator is pushing for a huge amount of funding to be sent to a known terrorist nation. Meanwhile, (Democrats) stopped a bill by (Republicans) seeking to bring major and immediate financial relief to American small businesses," according to the post.
Request for IMF funds for Iran
On April 9, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., wrote a letter to President Donald Trump, urging him to support Iran's request for a $5 billion emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund amid the coronavirus pandemic. The IMF is a 189-nation organization that works "to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world," according to its website.
"I am increasingly concerned that Iran is now contributing to the potential for even greater spread of this disease within the region as immigrants flee for their home countries, including Afghanistan. This portends additional challenges for U.S. and coalition forces there who work alongside their Afghan counterparts," Feinstein wrote.
The United States has about 17% of the voting power to block the aid, but it could lobby allies to reach the 70% special majority to veto the aid, CNN reported.
In a fact sheet April 6, the State Department said Iran has sufficient funds to fight the coronavirus outbreak. .
"Iran’s slick foreign influence campaign to obtain sanctions relief is not intended for the relief or health of the Iranian people but to raise funds for its terror operations," the fact sheet said.
In her letter, Feinstein proposed approving the money on a conditional basis.
"To assuage concerns that Iran could divert the aid for other purposes, we should make our support contingent upon IMF oversight on how Iran spends the funds," she wrote. "It is in our national interest, and in the interest of international security, to help Iran contain this disease."
US stimulus funding
The stimulus program designed to help small businesses affected by the coronavirus outbreak ran out of money Thursday. Congressional Democrats and Republicans could not compromise on how an additional $250 billion in emergency funds for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) should be allotted.
Republicans wanted no caveats attached, while Democrats sought to funnel some of the money to women- and minority-owned businesses, food stamp benefits, hospitals and state and local governments. The emergency loan for Iran was not part of the negotiations.
Anthony Rivera-Rodriguez, press secretary for Feinstein, told USA TODAY that passing more funding for PPP and the IMF loan for Iran are "separate issues."
"Further, while Congress has to fund PPP, the IMF loan comes from IMF funds, which the U.S. contributes to along with many other nations. But it’s not as though the money to be loaned to Iran would instead be used in the U.S. if the loan were not to be approved," he said.
Our rating: False
We rate this claim FALSE, based on our research. The Trump administration intends to block Iran from receiving $5 billion in emergency aid from the International Monetary Fund, aid that Feinstein supports. However, it was not a source of conflict during negotiations to fund the stimulus program for small businesses. The claim in the original Facebook post, along with several others, conflates the two topics.
Our fact check sources:
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact Check: Support for $5B in Iran aid isn't stalling stimulus funds
