Of course, given the contents of the legislation, it is an open question as to what the legislation will accomplish:

As the questions and concerns continue to mount regarding Iran’s nuclear aspirations, and in the wake of the recent student demonstrations in Tehran, the U.S. House of Representatives last week passed a non-binding version of the Iran Freedom and Democracy Support Act, to serve as a congressional statement of encouragement towards Iranian democratic change. A similar version of the act had already been introduced and passed in the Senate. However, neither version included allocation of money to Iranian opposition groups and satellite TV’s.

The original Senate version of the bill, which was introduced by Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, included a provision to allocate $50 million to fund anti-regime Iranian media outlets, specifically Los Angeles based stations, who broadcast uncensored Persian programs into Iran, and others such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s “Radio Farda.”

That allocation, however, was stricken from the bill before the legislation was allowed to leave committee for a vote by the Senate as a whole. Subsequently, the House version of the bill, introduced by Congressman Brad Sherman of California, also passed without any type of monetary allocation. Sherman and other bill supporters in the House, including Congressman Christopher Cox, also from California, hinted that although the $50 million provision was removed, monetary allocation for pro-democracy Iranian elements could possibly take form within future Commerce, Justice, or State appropriations bills. The bill did, however, provide a non-binding outline for U.S. policy towards Iran centered on supporting pro-democracy forces within and outside the country. The opponents of the bill, who argue that the US should not fund Iranian opposition groups, saw the passing of the watered-down version of the Act as a victory.

(Also posted on my own blog.)