Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy Statement on Iran Sanctions Conference Report Agreement

Statement

Today, Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (NY-04) issued the following statement on the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act:

"After weeks of back -and -forth, I am pleased that the leadership in both houses were able to come together in agreement on a final version of Iran sanctions legislation. I was a cosponsor of the original house bills and proudly support passage of the conference report today.

The goal of the legislation is to force Iran's leaders to halt their nuclear program, as demanded repeatedly by the international community. The United Nations Security Council two weeks ago voted to impose new sanctions on Iran. This was a good first step but we encourage all nations to go even further. I am glad we are doing so today and hope the President will sign it promptly. Each day that passes without implementing these sanctions is a day Iran gets closer to obtaining a nuclear weapon. And the last thing we, as a nation and as a global community, can allow is for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.

There has been considerable unhappiness in Congress that no previous Administration has strongly enforced the Iran Sanctions Act, which was passed in 1996. This bill will change that situation significantly. The Executive Branch will have to report sanctionable activity and have to either implement sanctions or waive them. And the waiver standards are now much higher than they were previously.

The legislation is an important part of the solution to our longstanding concern about the prospect of a nuclear Iran."

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