Suspension of Authority to Waive, Suspend, Reduce, Provide Relief from, or Otherwise Limit the Application of Sanctions Pursuant to an Agreement Related to the Nuclear Program of Iran

Floor Speech

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Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank him for his leadership, for the courage it took for him and the humility to listen and to learn what was in this legislation and this agreement. That is something that I commend the Members of the House for doing, to listen and to learn.

Our distinguished Speaker just referenced the oath of office that we take when we become Members of Congress. It is a vow that we make to the American people, to protect and support our Constitution and our responsibility to protect and defend the American people.

Today, Mr. Speaker, we will vote on an agreement to make America safer--indeed, to make the world a safer place--so say the nuclear scientists and the diplomats, so say the military and security leaders of both parties or of no party, so does the faith community beseech us to do.

This morning, Father Conroy offered a prayer to God to ``help the Members of this House to recognize that you are with us in our deliberations.'' Indeed, as we cast our votes on this historic agreement, we are thankful to God, that God was with us to, again, give us the humility to learn and the courage to act; and for that, we should all be grateful.

It is important to note that support for this agreement, as I have said, comes from both sides of the aisle. More than 100 former diplomats--Democrats and Republicans and ambassadors, et cetera--wrote:

In our judgment, the agreement deserves congressional support and the opportunity to show it can work. We firmly believe that the most effective way to protect U.S. national security and that of our allies and friends is to ensure that tough-minded diplomacy has a chance to succeed before considering other more risky alternatives.

Thirty-six generals and admirals wrote: ``There is no better option to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon. If the Iranians cheat''--as the Speaker suggested they might--``If the Iranians cheat, our advanced technology, intelligence and the inspections will reveal it, and U.S. military options remain on the table. And if the deal is rejected by America, the Iranians could have a nuclear weapon within a year. The choice is stark.''

What is mysterious to me is that when our colleagues come to the floor and say, under this agreement, Iran can be a nuclear power in 10 or 15 years, so we should reject this agreement, no. Without the agreement, they are a threshold nuclear power right now and can have a weapon within months or a year. It seems to me the choice is clear, as the generals and admirals pointed out.

It is also interesting to note that our distinguished Speaker pointed out some shortcomings, in his view, in the agreement. That is disagreed with by the best nuclear physicist, who wrote to congratulate the President on the agreement. Now, these are Nobel laureates, and these are engineers, nuclear physicists, who work and specialize in nuclear weapons research and development.

They said: ``We consider that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action the United States and its partners negotiated with Iran will advance the cause of peace and security in the Middle East and can serve''--this is really important--``as a guidepost for future non-proliferation agreements.''

They went on to say: ``This is an innovative agreement, with much more stringent constraints than any previously negotiated non-proliferation framework.''

That is why they were congratulating the President of the United States.

I mentioned the prayer of Father Conroy this morning. I also, this morning, saw in The Washington Post that the Prime Minister of the U.K., David Cameron; the French President, Francois Hollande; and German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, wrote an op-ed that said: ``This is an important moment. It is a crucial opportunity at a time of heightened global uncertainty to show what diplomacy can achieve.''

These heads of state went on to state: ``This is not an agreement based on trust or on any assumption about how Iran may look in 10 or 15 years. It is based on detailed, tightly written controls that are verifiable and long-lasting.''

They said: ``We condemn in no uncertain terms that Iran does not recognize the existence of the state of Israel and the unacceptable language that Iran's leaders use about Israel. Israel's security matters are, and will, remain our key interests, too.''

Prime Minister Cameron, President Hollande, and Chancellor Merkel then said: ``We would not have reached the nuclear deal with Iran if we did not think that it removed a threat to the region and the non-proliferation regime as a whole ..... We are confident that the agreement provides the foundation for resolving the conflict on Iran's nuclear program permanently. That is why we now want to embark on the full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.''

Today, I urge my colleagues to vote in support of the agreement that enhances our vigilance and strengthens our security.

I just always am fond of quoting a story of Solomon in the Bible. When King David died and Solomon was to become king, he was uncertain as to his ability to be king in terms of his wisdom and the rest. He prayed to God and prayed that God would give him the wisdom because David was such a great king and how could he say to God, I am going to be the king of your people, help me with wisdom?

God came to him in the night, and he said: Solomon, because you did not ask for longevity, because you did not ask for great riches, because you did not ask for vengeance upon your enemies, I will give you more wisdom than anyone has ever had; and you will be renowned for wisdom, the Solomon of wisdom which sprang from humility, the humility to pray for enlightenment, for knowledge, for wisdom, for judgment.

That humility is so essential in the job that we do here. We don't have foregone conclusions. That is why I am so proud of my Members who spent so much time studying this issue, not only reading the agreement and the classified sections and the rest, but seeking answers, having information, seeking validation from generals and admirals and scientists and leaders of other countries as to what their actions would be should we, unfortunately, reject this, which happily we will not do today.

They had the humility to open their minds to learn, and when they learned, they had the courage to take action where some others of their friends may not have arrived yet because they did not have the benefit of all of this information. Wherever Members come down on this issue, we know one thing--that we have to come together in the end to protect our country and to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

I say, mostly of my own experience, that I have had decades of experience in tracking Iran and its nuclear ambitions. I have served longer than anyone--more than two times more than anyone--on the Intelligence Committee, so I know of what I speak. I went to the Intelligence Committee to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and that gave me some judgment as to what the President brought back in this agreement. Still, I was subjected to the harshest scrutiny as to, from my experience, if I thought that this was the best possible route we could achieve.

We mustn't judge agreements by what they don't do but respect them for what they do do; and what this does is to make our country safer, the region safer, and our friends in Israel safer as their own national security experts have attested.

So I thank you, my colleagues. I thank you for listening, for learning, for coming to whatever conclusion you came to, but for understanding that, at the end of the day, we have respect for each other's opinions and a regard for our responsibilities to our people, to the people in the region, to our friend Israel, and also a global responsibility.

I join the nuclear physicist in congratulating President Barack Obama for his great leadership and for giving us this opportunity.

Today, we will not just be making history as the approval of the agreement goes forward. We will be making progress for the cause of peace in the world.

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