Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act

Floor Speech

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I rise in support of this legislation.

Our negotiators continue to hammer out the details of an agreement with Iran that will hopefully foreclose all pathways to a nuclear weapon. As I have said again and again, if a deal is struck, Congress must have a proper role in assessing that deal. That is what we are doing now. That is the purpose of this legislation before us today. This legislation passed the other body by a vote of 98-1.

If a deal is reached, what are the things I will be looking for? First, what will sanctions really look like? Will it be a step-by-step process, so that Iran is forced to comply with the agreement? How will we ensure that this financial windfall for Iran won't just be used to fund terrorism around the world?

Second, will a deal compel Iran to come clean on its weaponization work?

Third, will Iran's leaders agree to a verification and inspection regime that will allow for snap inspections of nuclear sites? Snap inspections mean that the inspectors can go all over Iran. They don't need special permission. We have not been hearing such positive things from the Iranian leadership who say that they will never allow inspectors on their military grounds.

We need answers to these questions. We need time to take a hard look at any deal and make sure there are no loopholes that Iran's leaders might be able to exploit. The bill we are debating today will give us that time.

My frustrations with these negotiations have stemmed from the fact that Iran was not required to cease its uranium enrichment while negotiating. When we sat down with Iran at the very beginning, more than a year ago, to negotiate with them, we should have said, While we are talking, you stop enriching. We didn't say that. I think that was a mistake.

Additionally, we negotiate as Iran continues its nefarious behavior around the world--in Syria, in Yemen, against Israel, support for terrorism. There is no sign that this agreement will lead to Iran stopping its support for terrorism or human rights violations; yet massive sanctions relief is on the table.

The fact of the matter is it is very frustrating that we are talking with Iran only about their nuclear weapons; we are not talking about the fact that they are a leading sponsor of terrorism or they are making trouble in Syria, where so many hundreds of thousands of innocents have died, or making trouble in Yemen or supporting Hezbollah, supporting Hamas.

It really is frustrating that we are talking about one aspect--their nuclear program--and meanwhile, they are free, apparently, to do whatever else they want. This really should not stand.

Perhaps the biggest question I have is whether Iran's leaders will ultimately be able to make the tough choices necessary to show the world that they are serious about living up to their commitments. This is a high bar to clear, and Iran's leaders, unfortunately, have given us no reason to trust them.

I remain concerned that the messages we are hearing from Iran directly contradict what the administration has told us. Iran's leaders have said that sanctions will be lifted immediately upon the signing of an agreement and that Iran will never accept inspections of their military sites.

This begs the question: Is Iran serious about these negotiations? We are told that any kind of sanctions relief will be incremental as Iran complies. The Iranian leaders are telling their public differently. We obviously have to settle this glaring discrepancy.

That is why this bill also includes provisions in case Iran reneges on its commitments. If Iran cheats, it would trigger immediate consideration of legislation that puts sanctions back in place, but let's hope it doesn't come to that.

The best way to avoid another war in the Middle East is a negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis. I wish our negotiators success. I hope this legislation sends a clear message that Congress is taking its role seriously, that we aren't playing politics with this issue and that we want these negotiations to result in a strong, verifiable deal that keeps a nuclear bomb out of Iran's hands.

I agree with Secretary Kerry when he says that no deal is better than a bad deal. The question is we want to make sure a bad deal isn't sold as a good deal. That is why it is important for Congress to be engaged.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations.

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In closing, let me first say I appreciate the thoughtfulness that I have heard during this debate from all sides. And I think that is really Congress at its best. I am proud to be a Member of Congress when I hear debates like this.

This legislation was negotiated very carefully to ensure that Iran would hear a unified and bipartisan message from Congress. Why is this important? It was Congress' work with the layers and layers of sanctions. And Mr. Royce has been my partner from day one. We have worked together so hard on sanctions and speaking with a unified voice in the Foreign Affairs Committee, and we have tried so hard to make the Foreign Affairs Committee the most bipartisan committee of Congress because foreign policy should be bipartisan. And what I have heard today from all across the aisle here is bipartisanship. And it is a good feeling. But it was Congress' work--the layers and layers of sanctions--that brought Iran to its knees and compelled Iran to come to the negotiating table.

I believe that it will be the threat of congressional action that will compel Iran to make the tough choices in these negotiations. But this congressional action must be bipartisan. Iran must not be able to dismiss a bill as a partisan stunt.

Congress must speak with a unified voice. We are stronger when we are unified. We are stronger when we act in a bipartisan manner. The international community followed our lead on Iran when we were unified. Iran came to the negotiating table when we were unified. And this vote should be no different: no poison pills, no extraneous messaging items that could torpedo this carefully crafted bill. Let's get this bill to the President's desk with a single voice.

Again, I want to repeat some of my trepidation. The fact that Iran was allowed to enrich uranium all these months and months of talking I think was a mistake. The fact that we are talking only with Iran about their nuclear program, not about their support for terrorism, not about Americans held in Iranian prisons, not about their ballistic weapons, not about their mischief in Iran, not about their support for international terrorism, not about their support for Hezbollah and Hamas, not about their threats of death to Israel and death to America, I think is a mistake.

But I do think negotiations are important, so I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote for this very, very sensible bipartisan piece of legislation. Let's get this bill to the President's desk with a single voice.

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