The Islamic Republic of Iran
Floor Speech
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Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of my constituents to express my outrage about the White House's ransom payment to Iran.
On January 17, 2016, the Obama administration announced that it would give the Islamic Republic of Iran a total of $1.7 billion to settle a 1979 arms deal. However, they failed to announce that, the day before, the administration had delivered an advance payment in cash of $400 million in unmarked bills to Iran in exchange for four American hostages. In fact, the American people did not learn that the White House had made this secret ransom payment at all until this past August.
The Obama administration's decision to violate our Nation's own historic policy against ransom payments has established a frightening precedent for the future. The President's willingness to bend to Iran's demands and use unmarked bills demonstrates to the world a fundamental weakness that emboldens our enemies while ceding to the demands of state sponsors of terrorism.
American soldiers, diplomats, and citizens living and traveling abroad are less safe this year than they were last year. And global beliefs and perceptions of American leadership and intentions--among our allies and, more disastrously, among the bad actors in the world-- have been forever altered.
Indeed, Iran is already celebrating its leverage over the United States. One commander of an Iranian Revolutionary Guard militia exulted that ``taking this much money back was in return for the release of the American spies.''
Since the January ransom payment, Iran has, unsurprisingly, arrested additional Americans. The American people deserve answers about why the President felt it was acceptable to give nearly $2 billion to radical extremists supporting terrorism across the Middle East and beyond.
That is why this month I interrogated officials at a Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing. My colleagues and I questioned the timing of the secret payment, the White House's insidious and foolish decision to use unmarked bills, and implications on terrorism in the region. But the administration refused to answer my simple questions that would give Americans the answers they deserve. Instead, officials said they could only share information behind closed doors.
I took them up on that offer, and I and my colleagues had that 2- hour-long, closed-door, classified meeting. After that briefing, I am now more certain than ever, Mr. Speaker, that the Obama administration paid an irresponsible and dangerous ransom to Iran. Why is the Obama administration so desperate to cover up the details of its ransom payment from the American people?
The White House has made a reckless national security decision to bend entirely to the demands of Iran without assurances that Iran would not use this money for its military.
Keep in mind that the Iranian military blatantly funds Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations. Shockingly, the administration told me publicly that, even if they had received assurances from Iran, they wouldn't have trusted the country to keep its promises.
Why, then, would we have given $400 million in unmarked bills to the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism? Why would the Obama administration accommodate and fund a foreign military that funds terrorism around the world?
Why didn't the White House write legally binding restrictions on the use of the money into the settlement agreement? Why did we agree to the settlement with a state sponsor of terrorism in the first place? The entire $1.7 billion was reportedly transferred to the Iranian military to fund a 90 percent increase in Iran's military budget. This is public information, and the Obama administration dismissively pretends that no one can use the Internet.
The Obama administration's gift to the Iranian military is a disgrace to America's allies in the Middle East, especially to Israel. It is a degradation of America's counter-terrorism efforts and geopolitical leadership. It is a failure to protect Americans abroad and the new prisoners who have been detained in Iran.
As a member of this free Nation's assembly of the people, I will hold our President accountable for his deception and negligence and will work to reverse this dangerous precedent that this administration has made for the future of our country.
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