United States Financial System Protection Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, one year ago, America chose to preclude an Iranian nuclear weapons program through diplomacy rather than war.

What has happened in the 12 months since that momentous decision was made?

The Iranians have given up 98 percent of their nuclear material. They have dismantled thousands of centrifuges, and they filled the core of a major plutonium reactor with concrete.

Even the chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, the IDF, said: ``The deal has actually removed the most serious danger to Israel's existence for the foreseeable future and greatly reduced the threat over the longer term.''

The promoters of these three bills are in a state of denial. They took every opportunity along the torturous path of negotiations to try to block, obstruct, and interfere with those negotiations and leave us with only the choice of war and military action to stop the Iranians from developing a nuclear weapon. So today, having denied diplomacy for so long, they are still compelled to deny that diplomacy has worked in the last year.

What we should be doing today is building on our success, not seeking to subvert it. Success so far doesn't mean that the Iranians may not backtrack. We know this is an authoritarian government that commits many wrongs today. It is certainly not our friend. That is why careful scrutiny and intensive inspections must continue. I believe that patient, deliberate diplomacy remains the only course--the best path-- to protect our families.

Now, one of the Republican Members this morning attacked the agreement and said that it has got us ``walking on eggshells.'' I have to tell you that even if that is true--and I deny that it is--walking on eggshells is much, much better for American families than the death and destruction of unleashing actual military shells. That is the alternative.

I believe that continuous, intrusive monitoring is the key to keeping our families safe and avoiding war. We have a lot of people agreeing with that. Nobel laureates, generals, diplomats, and former legislators are advising that, through this agreement, all pathways to an Iranian nuclear weapon have been blocked--so they said in their letter this week.

I remain hopeful. I am hopeful and optimistic that eventually we will overcome the extremists in Iran, hopeful that peace will prevail, and hopeful about this Congress, if nothing else, will not undo this agreement. Because they have shown such an inability to do any other work as they today shut down the Congress for the next 53 days, leaving so many challenges unanswered.

Let's conclude today by rejecting this attempt to deny the most effective way to protect the security of our families and that of our allies by letting diplomacy continue to advance.

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