Providing for Consideration of H.R. Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, and Providing for Consideration of H.R. No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, first, I thank the gentleman from Kentucky for yielding the time.

I rise today in support of the underlying legislation to prevent the Biden administration from following through on its policy of appeasement toward the Iranian regime.

My colleagues on the other side of the aisle insist that there are safeguards to ensure that the $6 billion unfrozen in the administration's agreement with Iran is spent purely on humanitarian efforts, but I ask my colleagues and this administration: If there is such an urgent need for access to that money for food and medicine and other assistance, then why has the Iranian regime invested for decades billions and billions of dollars into funding Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist organizations that are intent on murdering Americans, murdering the Jewish people, and destroying our friend and ally, the State of Israel?

The administration has lost its mind if they think that it can appease a fundamentalist regime that routinely calls for our annihilation and the annihilation of the Jewish people.

On October 7, we saw pure evil on display as Hamas, bankrolled by this Iranian regime with funds that could have been spent on food, medicine, or other humanitarian needs of the Iranian people, murdered, kidnapped children, raped women, and brutalized the elderly.

The evil we saw on that day was done at the behest of and with the resources provided by Iran's fundamentalist leaders. I remind you that there are still 240 hostages in Gaza, including 10 Americans.

Some of my colleagues continue to insist that this $6 billion deposit to the regime in the form of aid will not be used for malicious purposes. I think we all know that it will be.

We know that this administration has followed an utterly failed path of appeasing an evil regime in Iran, and the true cost of this failure is the violence and chaos brought upon the Israeli people by the Iranian-funded terrorist group Hamas.

Enabling Iran to fund terror goes against every principle our Nation has been founded on. It rejects freedom, democracy, and justice, and it empowers fear, division, and hatred. Appeasing Iran is disgusting and deeply un-American.

Mr. Speaker, let's stop pretending that we can move forward with the transfer of resources to a regime that wishes to destroy us and our allies. Let's stop pretending that we can negotiate with a regime that wishes genocide on the Jewish people.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the underlying legislation to halt this administration's reckless policy toward Iran.

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