Floor Speeches

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions Act to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Mr. Speaker, a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a threat to regional stability, to Israel, and to our national security, and above all, to the world. Passing strong sanctions against the Iranian regime is a critical step that we must immediately take in order to protect the world against this threat. Ahmadinejad is not a rational actor.

Congress must do all in its power to deter Iran from getting nuclear weapons and persuade the regime to halt their nuclear program—as the international community has repeatedly demanded. Iran has rejected the Administration's attempts to engage diplomatically; if we wish to avoid either military action or accepting a nuclear-armed Iran, we must incapacitate the regime's ability to pursue these weapons through tough sanctions.

The United States and our allies are at a critical juncture in our efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Iran continues to reject international proposals that would provide their regime with the resources to have a safe and secure civilian nuclear power program, but limit the Nation's ability to build the world's most destructive weapons. Iran now has enough low-enriched uranium that, when further enriched, could be used to fuel two nuclear weapons.

This is why Congress has acted swiftly to counter this threat and why the President also supports enacting new sanctions. While Congress has taken the lead on crafting this bill, preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons has been one of the Obama Administration's top priorities.

Under the President's leadership, the U.N. Security Council recently passed a new round of strong sanctions that will help to cripple Iran's nuclear weapon program. As proof that the administration's commitment to diplomacy is working, the U.N. resolution included support from China and Russia, who before had hesitated to press Iran to stop its nuclear program. In addition to the U.N. sanctions, the European Union is also currently in the process of instituting its own sanctions.

This powerful package of new sanctions that was developed by House and Senate Democrats would substantially augment these ongoing multilateral efforts by the U.N. Security Council, the European Union, and others.

Therefore, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. This bipartisan legislation will provide us the necessary tools to stop the spread of nuclear weapons to Iran, a nation that continues to sponsor terror, endanger our allies, and threaten our troops in the region. The sanctions are tough, focused, and results-oriented. This important step is critical to countering the threat of a nuclear Iran.