Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. KING. Mr. President, there is little I can add to the remarks of
the Senator from Virginia on this issue.

I think this institution is being tested this week, this month, and
over the next several months in a way that is really somewhat new. The
test, the question, is: Can we deal with the most serious of issues
facing this country and the world in a responsible, reasonable, and,
yes, bipartisan, nonpartisan way?

I also worked with Bob Corker, Senator Kaine, and the whole group
that worked on putting together--Senator Menendez--a bipartisan bill to
provide Congress a role in the approval of whatever deal is struck with
Iran. I believe Congress should have that role. But in those
discussions, my concern was that some of our Members will not be able
to resist the temptation to politicize and make a partisan issue--even
this grave issue of war and peace, this grave issue that faces this
country and the entire world--of the possibility of a regime such as
that in Iran achieving nuclear weapons.

This is not an ideological debate. This is a serious debate about the
future of this country. This is one of the most serious negotiations of
our adult lives. I want Congress to have a role, but I want it to play
that role weighing the merits, pro or con, the actual materials that
are in the treaty--in the agreement. I want us to have that role, but I
want to be sure we can respond to that in a responsible way. Frankly,
the actions of the last few days have shaken that confidence, because
we have seen what appears to be an effort to gain political and
partisan advantage from this gravest of national issues.

I understand there are differences about what the deal should look
like and what the terms should be. That is OK. That is what we should
be discussing. But to turn this into a partisan issue I think does a
grave disservice to this entire country, and to undercut the President
in the last stages of the negotiation to me is unprecedented and
unthinkable.

I was a young man at the time of the Cuban missile crisis. I cannot
imagine the Congress of the United States writing a letter to Kruschev
in the midst of those discussions and saying, Don't worry about this
guy Kennedy, he doesn't speak for the country. Yet that essentially is
what took place yesterday. I don't understand the need or the
helpfulness of such a statement at a time when we were already moving
toward a bipartisan--I believe probably veto-proof--bill to provide
this institution with a check on the quality of the deal that is being
struck.

It is not productive or helpful to turn issues of this kind into
partisan issues. I hope we can step back from this partisan posture and
meet this solemn responsibility to assess what the President and the
administration and the other five countries--the agreement they come to
with Iran--to determine whether, indeed, it is in the best interests of
the region and the world. That is our responsibility. I hope we can
muster the ability to meet that responsibility in a serious way and
not, for once, turn it into a partisan issue.

Thank you, Mr. President.

I yield the floor.

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