Conference Report on H.R. 2194, Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOYER. I want to thank the chairman for yielding.

I want to thank Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, my good friend, for the leadership she continues to show on a repeated basis on this issue and so many other issues. I want to thank Mr. Berman. I very much wanted to get this to the floor to move this week. He has done that. I want to thank Senator Dodd as well for his work. And I want to thank all the members of the subcommittee. I also want to thank Rob Andrews of New Jersey, who was so vital to the central idea of how we could put appropriate pressure on this.

I want to say to my Republican friends who have been talking about the Obama administration, frankly, the Bush administration and the Obama administration have both been working towards trying to resolve this issue with Iran. Frankly, the Obama administration has, for the first time, gotten a strong resolution through the Security Council. We had the opportunity of just meeting with the President of Russia, Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen, the Speaker and I, and others, and Mr. Berman. He said it was a tough thing to do, but he worked very closely with President Obama and they were able to get it done. So this is not a time for pointing fingers. We're united on this. This is not a difference, but this is a unity, a unity of purpose and commitment.

Every one of us understands the deep danger of a nuclear Iran. That danger includes a new nuclear arms race as Iran's regional rivals scramble to build competing arsenals, plunging the world into a new era of proliferation. No one wants that. The danger includes as well a nuclear umbrella for terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah to stage more brazen and deadly attacks, especially on our ally Israel, but not exclusively. There are 250,000 Americans in harm's way from Iran as we speak.

And the danger includes, on a more basic level, a new era of fear for all of those in range of Iran's missiles. All of those consequences 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 Iran's neighbors.

Even so, our administration has pursued a dual-track strategy with respect to Iran.

On the one side is the administration's policy of engagement. I support that policy. John Kennedy said that we should never fear to negotiate, but we ought never to negotiate out of fear. I think he was correct. Jim Baker, in the days before we went into Kuwait, was talking to Saddam Hussein to see if the matter could be resolved.

On the one side, as I said, is that policy of engagement. This engagement reversed years of diplomatic silence during which Iran's nuclear program grew. It showed the world our patience; it tested Iran's willingness to negotiate in good faith, and it built international support for sanctions.

Sadly, the time limit for engagement has come and gone. It is time to pursue the second prong of the dual-track strategy--pressure. The International Atomic Energy Agency tells us that Iran has now enough low-enriched uranium for two bombs; Iran has attempted to hide nuclear facilities, and has refused to cooperate with the demands of the IAEA and the U.N. Security Council to suspend enrichment.

Let's be clear: Iran is blatantly defying the will of the international community. This is unacceptable. That is not a partisan position. It is almost a unanimous position of the administration and of this Congress. That is why this is the right time to bring strong economic pressure to bear on the Iranian regime.

I rise in strong support of this resolution. I urge its support.

I, again, thank Mr. Berman and Ms. Ros-Lehtinen for their leadership in bringing this critical resolution to the floor.

I join my colleagues as well in saying that enforcement of the resolutions that Iran has adopted, that our European colleagues have adopted, and this resolution will be critical, and the understanding that it is to be enforced needs to be understood by Iran.

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