Prohibiting Future Ransom Payments to Iran Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this legislation, which is not a product of bipartisan collaboration as is the tradition of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The facts of this case are simple. Unfortunately, they have been muddied by election year politics and a lack of careful deliberation on this matter.

In 1979, U.S. weapons sales to Iran were interrupted by the Iranian revolution, and $400 million worth of American weapons that were paid for by Iran were never delivered.

In December 2015, the U.S. and Iran settled the claim over the weapons sale for $1.7 billion, including $1.3 billion in interest.

Payment of the claim on January 16, 2016 coincided with Implementation Day of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the release of four Americans detained in Iran.

The settlement was announced the next day, and Congress was briefed on the payment.

For eight months this settlement was not the emergency it has somehow become.

And now with less than 50 days until the election we have rushed this legislation to the Floor without any input from the Minority.

We did not even bother to have a hearing on this subject, which the Majority obviously views as important.

In fact, the hearing on the settlement payment was scheduled for this week, after we marked up this bill in Committee last week.

The hearing was subsequently cancelled, which was probably for the best.

The Committee might have looked a little foolish sending a bill to the Floor to be voted on and then seeking out the facts of the case in a hearing.

Point, shoot, aim, should not the manner in which Congress conducts U.S. foreign policy.

Perhaps we should go back to the drawing board and try to move forward in a bipartisan fashion.

That is how the House Foreign Affairs Committee functions best.

It is how we passed Iranian sanctions to bring Iran to the negotiating table.

It is how we have gone after Iran's financing of Hezbollah.

And it is how we should continue to confront the legitimate challenges Iranian behavior poses to security and stability in the world.

This legislation is not in keeping with that successful tradition, and I must oppose it.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source