PRESIDENT SIGNS NEW EXECUTIVE ORDER TARGETING FOREIGN SANCTIONS EVADERS

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY
FACT SHEET: New Executive Order Targeting Foreign Sanctions Evaders
WASHINGTON – Today the President signed an Executive Order (E.O.), “Prohibiting
Certain Transactions with and Suspending Entry into the United States of Foreign Sanctions Evaders with Respect to Iran and Syria,” providing the U.S. Treasury Department with a new authority to tighten further the U.S. sanctions on Iran and Syria.

This E.O. targets foreign individuals and entities that have violated, attempted to violate, conspired to violate, or caused a violation of U.S. sanctions against Iran or Syria, or that have facilitated deceptive transactions for persons subject to U.S. sanctions concerning Syria or Iran. With this new authority, Treasury now has the capability to publicly identify foreign individuals and entities that have engaged in these evasive and deceptive activities, and generally bar access to the U.S. financial and commercial systems.

“The foreign sanctions evaders E.O. provides Treasury additional means to impose serious consequences on foreign persons who seek to evade our sanctions and undermine international efforts to bring pressure to bear on the Iranian and Syrian regimes. Whoever tries to evade our sanctions does so at the expense of the people of Syria and Iran, and they will be held accountable,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen.

Upon Treasury’s identification and listing of a foreign sanctions evader, U.S. persons will generally be prohibited from providing to, or procuring from, the sanctioned party goods, services, or technology, effectively cutting the evader off from the U.S. marketplace. This provides Treasury with a powerful new tool to prevent, deter, and respond to the risks posed by sanctions evaders to the U.S. and global financial system. It also will help prevent U.S. persons from unwittingly engaging in transactions with foreign individuals and entities that pose a particular risk of running afoul of U.S. sanctions concerning Iran or Syria.

The foreign sanctions evaders E.O. is the latest in a broad-based and escalating series of steps taken by the United States and its international partners targeting the governments of Iran and Syria with respect to their abuse of human rights, support for terrorism, and proliferation and development of weapons of mass destruction. The foreign sanctions evaders E.O. follows by one week the Executive Order Blocking The Property And Suspending Entry into the United States of Certain Persons with Respect to Grave Human Rights Abuses by the Governments of Iran and Syria via Information Technology (the “GHRAVITY E.O.”), which targeted the provision and use of information and communications technology to facilitate computer or network disruption, monitoring, or tracking that could assist in or enable serious human rights abuses by or on behalf of the Government of Iran or the Government of Syria.

WOUNDED WARRIOR SOLDIER RIDE TOOK PLACE AT THE WHITE HOUSE

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
President Barack Obama cheers on participants in the Wounded Warrior Soldier Ride on the South Lawn of the White House, April 20, 2012. (White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
President Pays Tribute to Wounded Warriors on Soldier Ride

By Terri Moon Cronk
WASHINGTON, April 21, 2012 - President Barack Obama cheered for 22 wounded warriors taking part in a Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride yesterday, calling it "one of the most inspiring events" to take place at the White House.

Soldier Rides are four-day cycling events designed to "use cycling and the bonds of service to overcome physical, mental or emotional wounds," according the Wounded Warrior Project website. This was the fourth year the White House hosted a Soldier Ride, and it included members of each military service and the Coast Guard. The events have been occurring for six years.

"I'm glad to see you're all decked out in the stars and stripes, because I want anybody who sees this ride go by to know that they're in the presence of heroes," Obama told the colorful group of riders on the South Lawn.

Obama pointed out a few of the riders and their physical challenges: Max Rohn, who lost a leg in Fallujah, Iraq, during a grenade attack; Leslie Smith, who lost a leg and her eyesight in Bosnia, who rode tandem yesterday; and brothers Erik and Deven Schei, who also rode together on a tandem bike.

"When Erik enlisted in the Army, Deven made a promise that if anything bad ever happened, he would finish what his brother started," the president said. "During his second tour in Iraq, Erik was shot in the head by a sniper. So Deven enlisted. Then two years ago, Deven was injured in Afghanistan. And now the two brothers ride a specially made tandem bike, with Deven leading the way. They're taking on this latest challenge just like they did every other one -- together."

Veterans Administration Secretary Eric Shinseki, also attended the event and cheered on the riders. The president promised to do everything he could to make sure wounded warriors and other veterans get the care and benefits they earned.

"All of you have served your country. That's why now it's time for the country to serve you. That's what you deserve, and here in America we take care of our own," Obama said.

The president said the riders participated in the challenge for a variety of reasons.
"Some of you may be athletes looking to get the competitive juices flowing again," he said. "Maybe some of you are trying to see how far you can push yourselves. Some of you are doing it for the camaraderie and the bond that comes when you work hard alongside people who know what you're going through.

"Maybe you're doing it to honor a loved one or a buddy," the president added. "But all of you are here because you believe in living your lives to the fullest. You know that each of us has a responsibility to seize the opportunities we've been blessed with. You ride because you can, and you ride for those who can't. That's what this is all about."
The president also welcomed the 200 U.S. service members whom the White House invited to cheer on the riders as they circled the South Lawn.Fifty troops each represented the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.

Obama paid tribute to the riders' military family members who were in attendance.
"[They] don't wear a uniform, but ... work just as hard and sacrifice just as much alongside you," he told the riders.

The president said the soldier rides across the country remind U.S. citizens to support the men and women who serve for other Americans. He encouraged citizens to show their support for the riders and thank them for their service by cheering them along in communities around the country.

Wounded warrior riders have clocked miles this year on Soldier Rides through Chicago, New York, Seattle, Phoenix, San Antonio and Miami, Key West, Tampa and Jacksonville, Fla.; Nashville, Tenn., North Fork, Calif. and Landstuhl, Germany.
"We are proud of you. Your country is proud of you," the president told the riders. He then sounded the horn to start the ride of three laps around the South Lawn of the White House.