A reception in the U.S. Capitol sought to promote the passage of House Resolution 134 and Senate resolution 80, which condemn the persecution of Iran's Baha'i community. They also call for sanctions against Iranian officials who are "directly responsible for egregious human rights violations in Iran, including against the Baha'i Community." "We must let the Iranian government know that we are not going to tolerate the unjust persecution of the Baha'is or of any religion or of any Iranian citizen," Representative Michael Grimm of New York told the audience. Representative Howard Berman of California – a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee – listed a series of abuses against Iranian Baha'is and asked, "What kind of a sick regime treats citizens this way?"