Nuclear Iran Prevention Act of 2013
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 3 minutes.
I rise in strong support of H.R. 850, the Nuclear Iran Prevention Act of 2013.
It's been a pleasure working with Chairman Royce to craft this bipartisan legislation, which, by the way, passed unanimously in the Foreign Affairs Committee. Every Republican, every Democrat voted ``yes'' on this. It now has more than 370 cosponsors. We share the goal of preventing a nuclear-capable Iran, and I could not ask for a better partner than Mr. Royce in this effort.
Mr. Speaker, I think all of us agree that a nuclear-capable Iran would pose a grave threat to the U.S., a threat to our allies in the region, and a threat to the future of the global nonproliferation regime. All of us are aware that Iran has violated numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions and repeatedly blocked IAEA inspectors seeking to investigate its nuclear program.
After many years of deceit and stonewalling by the Iranian regime, I continue to hold out hope that we can achieve a peaceful resolution of the Iranian nuclear crisis through diplomatic means. But time is growing short. According to the IAEA, Iran is installing advanced centrifuges to enrich more uranium and continues to build a heavy water reactor that could produce plutonium.
We must not allow the Iranians to play the same old game, engaging in endless negotiations with no results while continuing to advance the nuclear program. That's why we must continue to pursue a two-track approach to Iran, one that incorporates both pressure and negotiations.
The legislation before us today will significantly ratchet up the pressure and hopefully give our diplomats the leverage they need to persuade Iran that its only viable option is to end its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
Among other things, this bill seeks to cut Iran's oil exports by another 1 million barrels a day, a reduction of two-thirds from current levels. It also strengthens existing sanctions by authorizing the President to restrict significant commercial trade with Iran.
In addition, the bill seeks to deny the Iranian regime hard currency by enhancing efforts to cut off Iran's access to euros.
Finally, the legislation imposes new sanctions against Iranian shipping ports and expands existing sanctions against Iranian human rights violators.
Mr. Speaker, some of my colleagues argue that we should delay sanctions until after the new President of Iran takes office. I respectfully disagree. I know they share the goal of preventing a nuclear-capable Iran, but I believe we should take a different approach.
Our efforts to impose new sanctions should not be based on the Iranian political calendar. In my view, the paramount consideration should be the Iranian nuclear clock, the nuclear calendar, the amount of time it will take Iran to achieve a nuclear weapons capability.
I have no reason to believe that the results of the recent Iranian election will fundamentally alter Iran's current course. The unelected supreme leader, the Ayatollah, remains the one true decision-maker at the pinnacle of the regime. And president-elect Rouhani, who was directly involved in efforts to deceive the international community when he served as Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, made clear during the campaign that he supports Iran's nuclear ambitions.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself an additional 30 seconds.
If Rouhani truly has the willing authority to make a bold gesture on Iran's nuclear program, like suspending enrichment, he has a small window of opportunity before this bill becomes law. I think all of us would welcome such a gesture, but I'm not holding my breath.
In closing, I would like to reiterate that by strengthening sanctions we are not calling for an end of diplomacy. After many years of fruitless negotiations, it is clear that talks will only succeed if the regime feels pressure to change course. That is what we are trying to accomplish with this legislation today.
I look forward to working with Chairman Royce to ensure that the strongest possible sanctions are enacted into law, and I reserve the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the remaining time.
We have to look at things as they really are, not as we wish them to be. To my friends who say, What's the hurry? The hurry is we don't have time to wait. While we're talking, centrifuges are spinning and Iran is getting ever closer to having a nuclear weapon. By waiting, we're only aiding and abetting them.
Mr. Rouhani is no moderate. Moderates were not allowed to run in this Iranian election. He may be the least hard-core of all the hardliners; but make no mistake about it, he was directly involved in efforts to deceive the international community when he served as Iran's chief nuclear negotiator. And he made clear during his campaign that he supports Iran's nuclear ambitions.
This is a bipartisan bill, and for good reason we have over 370 cosponsors. I respectfully ask my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source