Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders

Floor Speech

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Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this important legislation to provide for Congressional review of any final nuclear agreement with Iran.

It is the policy of the United States to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. That is my position, and it has been the position of both President Obama and a majority in the United States Congress.

As I indicated in a statement a few weeks ago, I support President Obama's ongoing effort to work with our P5+1 partners to achieve a strong and verifiable agreement to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. This legislation makes clear that Congress must exercise its responsibilities in this process.

As the Administration has acknowledged, many important details remain to be worked out before the June 30 deadline. These include ensuring that inspectors are able to visit all nuclear sites in Iran, that sanctions only begin to unwind after the International Atomic Energy Agency confirms that Iran is complying with the terms of the final agreement, that the ``snap back'' of sanctions is assured should Iran violate the agreement, and that Iran implements an agreed set of measures to address the IAEA's concerns regarding the possible military dimensions of its program. I will be carefully monitoring and reviewing the ongoing negotiations to determine whether the final agreement meets the objectives we established.

The legislation before us today ensures the very important role that Congress must play in this process. It provides that Congress will review this agreement and have the opportunity to act. Moreover, it makes clear that any repeal of sanctions legislation will require congressional action. As negotiations continue, I look forward to working with the president and my congressional colleagues to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. I agree with President Obama that it would be best if we can achieve that objective by negotiating a verifiable agreement. But I also agree with him that no deal is better than a bad deal.

Madam Speaker, the President and a majority in the Congress are united in our commitment to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Let us continue to pursue that objective together.

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