Comphrehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010--Conference Report

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I rise today in strong support of the conference report for the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act.

First, I would like to commend Senator Dodd for putting forth a comprehensive plan to arm the administration with the tools they need to put a stop to Iran's rogue nuclear program.

I believe when it comes to Iran, we should never take the military option off the table. But I have long argued that economic sanctions are the preferred and probably the most effective way to choke Iran's nuclear ambitions.

The Obama administration initiated direct diplomatic negotiations with Iran, but that government, led by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, stubbornly refused to suspend their nuclear program despite President Obama's genuine attempts at diplomacy.

Iran's nuclear weapons program represents a severe threat to American national interests because their acquisition of nuclear weapons could lead to the proliferation of nuclear weapons throughout the Middle East and beyond, ending any hopes for a nuclear weapons-free world.

Make no mistake, a nuclear Iran would be destabilizing to its neighbors, encourage terrorism against the United States and Israel, and the risk of both conventional and nuclear war in the Middle East would rise considerably.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has already threatened to ``wipe Israel off the map,'' so we know for a fact that a nuclear Iran would pose a potential threat to our closest ally in the region, the State of Israel.

These tough new sanctions have such overwhelming support because Members of the House and Senate, Democrat and Republican, are united in doing what is necessary to stop Iran's drive to obtain a nuclear weapons capability.

It will also impose sanctions on financial institutions doing business with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or with certain Iranian banks blacklisted by the Department of Treasury.

The bill sanctions companies that export gasoline to Iran. This is one of the few pressure points where we can act unilaterally and have a real effect. The world knows Iran does not currently have the refining capacity to meet its domestic gasoline needs and is dependent on imported gasoline. So now is the time to reduce Iran's energy supply if it fails to suspend its nuclear enrichment program.

I am also glad we will be strengthening export controls to stop the illegal export of sensitive technology to Iran. During the recent Iranian elections, we witnessed the Iranian regime go so far as to block the Internet and mobile phone communications of their own citizens.

That is why Senator LINDSEY GRAHAM and I introduced the Reduce Iranian Cyber Suppression Act, or RICA, a bipartisan bill that would bar companies that export sensitive communications technology to Iran from applying for or renewing procurement contracts with the U.S. Government. I am pleased these provisions have been preserved in the conference.

I also applaud the conferees for not carving out companies from countries that are U.S. allies. There must be one standard when it comes to punishing companies that continue to invest in Iran.

So, in conclusion, Chairman Dodd has done an excellent job crafting a comprehensive plan to arm the administration with the tools it needs to put a stop to Iran's rogue nuclear program. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this plan, and I look forward to the President signing this important legislation. It is a tremendous accomplishment for Congress, and it is going to go a long way to address the real security threat that Iran poses to the United States and our world.

I yield the floor.

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