BREAK TRANSCRIPT
* Mr. Speaker, perhaps the most important element of our democracy is the reverence our people and government have for the rule of law. I stand here today because I am dismayed at the State Department's inaction in response to a Federal court ruling stating the DoS was incorrect in placing the MEK on the terrorist watch list. This inaction damages the credibility of our executive branch as well its ability to faithfully execute the laws of this land.
* More than 10 years ago, the State Department put Iran's most organized opposition on the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, FTO, in order to get the Iranian mullahs to cooperate with us. Not only has this policy failed to temper Iran's aggressive behavior, it has actually emboldened them. More importantly, the terror listing of the Iranian opposition has robbed people of Iran of the political space needed to effectively oppose the regime within Iran and in the global arena.
* Our allies in the UK and EU have removed the MEK from their banned organizations list. The DC Circuit Federal Appeals Court has also ordered our government to reexamine its evidence on the MEK and undertake a fresh review of their case. The 10th Circuit stated that the State Department had not shown that the MEK had been engaged or had the intent to engage in terrorist activities which is a requirement to being designated as an FTO. Ninety-five Members of Congress and I have agreed with the court decision and co-sponsored H. Res. 60 to urge the Secretary of State to remove the MEK as an FTO and lift all restrictions.
* As such, I would therefore like to ask the folks in State Department a simple question: Why has the department, after more than 500 days of deliberation failed to faithfully comply with the Federal court order?