Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act Of 2009
Floor Speech
Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act Of 2009
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Mr. HOYER. I thank the chairman for yielding. I want to thank the chairman, and I want to thank Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen for her leadership as well.
Madam Speaker, every Member of this Chamber understands the deep danger inherent in a nuclear Iran. That danger includes a new nuclear arms race as Iran's regional rivals scramble to build competing arsenals, plunging the Middle East into an ever-greater instability and the world into a new era of proliferation.
The danger includes as well a ``nuclear umbrella'' for groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, terrorist organizations who may take any advantage of their state sponsor's protection to stage more brazen and deadly attacks on Israel, certainly, but on all the rest of us as well.
And the danger includes on a more basic level a new era of fear for all those in range of Iran's missiles, fear that could equal or surpass what we ourselves experienced during the worst days of the Cold War. And all of those consequences, Madam Speaker, will be felt even if Iran's missiles remain on the launch pad or if its nuclear weapons remain buried. Could we imagine those weapons being used? We would be foolish not to as long as those weapons are in the hands of a regime whose President denies the Holocaust, stokes hatred, and openly threatens its neighbors and the United States of America.
In the months since last summer's election, we have seen the character of the Iranian regime more clearly than ever. We have seen it in the dissent silenced, in opposition leaders threatened and jailed, in peaceful protesters beaten and shot for the crime of demanding that their votes be counted. We have seen a regime founded on violence and on violent disregard for the opinion of its people and the opinion of the world community.
Even so, our administration has, and I think correctly, in my view, pursued a policy of engagement with Tehran. That engagement reversed years of diplomatic silence that did little to slow Iran's growing nuclear program. It showed the world our patience and our commitment to addressing the common threat through diplomacy. And it gauged Tehran's honest willingness to resolve the crisis at the negotiating table. America's policy of engagement always came with a time limit, time for Tehran to negotiate in good faith or, as so many Members have said on this floor today, to show that it was only using talks as a cover for continuing enrichment of uranium.
Sadly, time is running short and there is still no diplomatic agreement. The enrichment continues and the threat grows. The past months have brought revelations of secret Iranian facilities, a lack of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and a refusal to comply with Security Council demands to suspend enrichment.
Just today The Washington Post reported that ``Iran has learned how to make virtually every bolt and switch in a nuclear weapon, according to assessments by U.N. nuclear officials, as well as Western and Middle Eastern intelligence analysts and weapons experts.'' That language is in the paper today. That is why this is the right time to bring strong economic pressure to bear on the Iranian regime.
None of us want military conflict. Economic sanctions are not as effective as we would like them to be. But we just recently heard from a leader, the Chancellor of Germany, that a nuclear armed Iran was unacceptable. Angela Merkel spoke from this rostrum. This is not only a perception of the United States; it's a perception also of those who live in Europe, even more proximate to the nuclear threat that would be caused by Iran armed with nuclear weapons.
The bill was designed by Chairman Berman and his
committee to target Iran's economy at one of its weakest points by penalizing companies that help Iran import or produce refined petroleum products. Even though it is an oil producer, Iran imports a great deal of the refined petroleum that powers its economy.
So these sanctions that are proposed will increase the high cost of Iran's self-imposed isolation from the international community. They are also a proportional response because they're exclusively tied to Iran's nuclear program. We should never take sanctions like these lightly.
Even as we stand with the protesters facing down repression at the hands of their own government, we understand that these sanctions will affect the lives of many ordinary Iranians for the worse. But we know that economic pressure has worked before to alter the behavior of outlaw regimes, especially when such pressure is widely supported by the international community, as certainly we must hope these sanctions are. We know that these sanctions are our best tool against the nuclear proliferation that risks the security of millions in the Middle East. And let me say that we have 250,000 or more Americans within range of Iranian missiles.
We know that Tehran can choose at any point to negotiate in good faith, abandon its aggressive nuclear pursuit, and rejoin the community of nations. We shouldn't hope for a change of heart from that regime, but we can hope for a change of behavior: a cold understanding that as long as Iran builds the capacity to catastrophically attack its neighbors, its economy will suffer deeply. These sanctions have the power to force that choice.
I therefore urge my colleagues to adopt this resolution. It is time. It is time to do more than talk. We are willing to talk. We want to talk. But talk without action is not acceptable. Let us pass this resolution, support the administration in moving ahead with the international community on imposing sanctions that will make not only the Middle East but the international community safer.
I thank the gentleman for the time.
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