Water Resources Development Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, while I was traveling around Arkansas during our instate work period, one of the top issues I heard about from my constituents was national security. It remains at the forefront of the minds of Arkansans. I am sure my colleagues heard the same thing during their time at home.

The message I received was one of concern--concern with how the administration's terrible Iran deal is flushing the regime with cash and allowing Tehran to continue its nuclear activities while rebuilding its arsenal and belligerently bullying the United States and our allies. They are concerned that North Korea is ramping up its nuclear program to try to get the same sweetheart deal, and they are concerned the threat from ISIS continues to grow despite the President's attempt to convince the public that radical Islamic terror is not a problem.

Let's start with Iran. Earlier this week, Iran threatened to shoot down two U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft for flying ``too close to Iranian airspace.'' Yes, the country the Obama administration bent over backward to appease threatened us once again. This is the latest in a long line of provocations directed by Iran toward the United States.

Last month, Iran harassed our warships in the Persian Gulf on at least five occasions. Iran's belligerence has been matched by the nation's pursuit of weapons, all of which has been enabled by the terrible nuclear deal President Obama brokered--a deal Iran has zero intentions of abiding by.

Earlier this month, the regime in Tehran deployed a Russian-supplied surface-to-air-missile defense system around its Fordow underground uranium enrichment facility. This potent missile defense system was part of an $800 million deal Russia signed with Iran in 2007. That deal has been voluntarily put on hold because of a 2010 U.N. Security Council resolution, but that hold was lifted after President Obama's weak Iran deal signaled to Russia that it is acceptable to sell weapons to Iran.

This news is shocking given that President Obama said his deal halts enrichment at Fordow. If that is the case, why does Iran need this potent defense system to protect its scientific facility? Where did Iran get the money for this system? The Obama administration and its negotiating partners agreed in secret to allow Iran to evade some restrictions in the nuclear agreement. This reprieve was grand in order to give Iran more time to meet the deadline for it to start getting relief from economic sanctions. For all of these concessions, what exactly did the international community get out of the deal? Certainly not peace of mind. Meanwhile, Iran gets concession after concession to build a peaceful nuclear program that no one outside the White House believes will remain that way, but outside the White House walls, the rogue actors of the world have a different perspective. What they see is a meal ticket--a way to get out of sanctions without having to end the pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Case in point, North Korea. They have seen the windfall Iran has received for agreeing to the President's deal and appear to be angling for a windfall of their own, which is why North Korea defied U.N. resolutions and detonated its fifth and largest nuclear weapon last week. After carrying out the test, North Korea boasted that the warhead could be used to counter the American threat. Make no mistake, North Korea wants its own deal and will continue to try to provoke the United States.

Will President Obama cave in to North Korea's demands in the same manner in which he did with Iran? We certainly should not be granting sanctions relief to North Korea nor should we be doing so for Iran. In fact, we should be ratcheting up sanctions. We have passed legislation to do that for North Korea already. The chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee has a bill to make that happen for Iran as well. I am cosponsoring that bill and hope we can move it forward in the Senate.

While Iran and North Korea step up the posturing, ISIS just released a gruesome new propaganda video showing dozens of captured prisoners hung from meat hooks inside a Syrian slaughterhouse. The video then shows ISIS members slitting the throats of these prisoners. The brutality of these terrorists, which President Obama once referred to as the JV team, is shocking and revolting. The President has never presented a strategy to Congress for eliminating ISIS, and our sporadic airstrikes have done little to stop the terrorist group from pressing forward to strengthen its global reach.

As these events play out, Senate Democrats continue to block vital funding for our troops and our country's security and keep it from moving forward. This is why national security was the main concern I heard about during the instate work period and I continue to hear about now. The anxiety and unease created by this administration's failed foreign policy weighs heavy on the American people. We must change course.

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