[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 568 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 568

  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the 
   importance of preventing the Government of Iran from acquiring a 
                      nuclear weapons capability.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 1, 2012

 Ms. Ros-Lehtinen (for herself, Mr. Berman, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Ackerman, 
 Mr. Royce, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, Mr. Hastings of 
    Florida, Mr. Turner of New York, and Mr. Deutch) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the 
   importance of preventing the Government of Iran from acquiring a 
                      nuclear weapons capability.

Whereas since at least the late 1980s, Iran has engaged in a sustained and well-
        documented pattern of illicit and deceptive activities to acquire a 
        nuclear capability;
Whereas the United Nations Security Council has adopted multiple resolutions 
        since 2006 demanding the full and sustained suspension of all uranium 
        enrichment-related and reprocessing activities by the Iranian Government 
        and its full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency 
        (IAEA) on all outstanding issues related to its nuclear activities, 
        particularly those concerning the possible military dimensions of its 
        nuclear program;
Whereas, on November 8, 2011, the IAEA issued an extensive report that--

    (1) documents ``serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions 
to Iran's nuclear programme'';

    (2) states that ``Iran has carried out activities relevant to the 
development of a nuclear device''; and

    (3) states that the efforts described in paragraphs (1) and (2) may be 
ongoing;

Whereas as of November 2008, Iran had produced, according to the IAEA--

    (1) approximately 630 kilograms of uranium-235 enriched to 3.5 percent; 
and

    (2) no uranium-235 enriched to 20 percent;

Whereas as of November 2011, Iran had produced, according to the IAEA--

    (1) nearly 5,000 kilograms of uranium-235 enriched to 3.5 percent; and

    (2) 79.7 kilograms of uranium-235 enriched to 20 percent;

Whereas, on January 9, 2011, IAEA inspectors confirmed that the Iranian 
        Government had begun enrichment activities at the Fordow site, including 
        possibly enrichment of uranium-235 to 20 percent;
Whereas if Iran were successful in acquiring a nuclear weapon capability, it 
        would likely spur other countries in the region to consider developing 
        their own nuclear weapons capabilities;
Whereas, on December 6, 2011, Prince Turki al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia stated that 
        if international efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons 
        fail, ``we must, as a duty to our country and people, look into all 
        options we are given, including obtaining these weapons ourselves'';
Whereas top Iranian leaders have repeatedly threatened the existence of the 
        State of Israel, pledging to ``wipe Israel off the map'';
Whereas the Department of State--

    (1) has designated Iran as a ``State Sponsor of Terrorism'' since 1984; 
and

    (2) has characterized Iran as the ``most active state sponsor of 
terrorism'';

Whereas Iran has provided weapons, training, funding, and direction to terrorist 
        groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and Shiite militias in Iraq that are 
        responsible for the murders of hundreds of American forces and innocent 
        civilians;
Whereas, on July 28, 2011, the Department of the Treasury charged that the 
        Government of Iran had forged a ``secret deal'' with al Qaeda to 
        facilitate the movement of al Qaeda fighters and funding through Iranian 
        territory;
Whereas in October 2011, senior leaders of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard 
        Corps (IRGC) Quds Force were implicated in a terrorist plot to 
        assassinate Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the United States on United 
        States soil;
Whereas, on December 26, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly passed a 
        resolution denouncing the serious human rights abuses occurring in Iran, 
        including torture, cruel and degrading treatment in detention, the 
        targeting of human rights defenders, violence against women, and ``the 
        systematic and serious restrictions on freedom of peaceful assembly'' as 
        well as severe restrictions on the rights to ``freedom of thought, 
        conscience, religion or belief'';
Whereas President Obama has made repeated efforts through the P5+1 process to 
        engage the Iranian Government in dialogue about Iran's nuclear program 
        and its international commitments under the Treaty on the Non-
        Proliferation Nuclear Weapons;
Whereas in the 2006 State of the Union Address, President Bush stated that ``The 
        Iranian Government is defying the world with its nuclear ambitions, and 
        the nations of the world must not permit the Iranian regime to gain 
        nuclear weapons.'';
Whereas, on March 31, 2010, President Obama stated that the ``consequences of a 
        nuclear-armed Iran are unacceptable'';
Whereas in his State of the Union Address on January 24, 2012, President Obama 
        stated: ``Let there be no doubt: America is determined to prevent Iran 
        from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table 
        to achieve that goal'';
Whereas Secretary of Defense Panetta stated, in December 2011, that it was 
        unacceptable for Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, reaffirmed that all 
        options were on the table to thwart Iran's nuclear weapons efforts, and 
        vowed that if the United States gets ``intelligence that they are 
        proceeding with developing a nuclear weapon then we will take whatever 
        steps necessary to stop it'';
Whereas, on December 1, 2011, Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns and 
        Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon issued a joint statement 
        in Washington, DC, which emphasized that ``Iran is the greatest 
        challenge we face today in the Middle East'' and that ``[c]ontinued 
        efforts by the international community are critical to bringing about 
        change in Iranian behavior and preventing Iran from developing a nuclear 
        weapons capability.''; and
Whereas the Department of Defense's January 2012 Strategic Guidance stated that 
        United States defense efforts in the Middle East would be aimed ``to 
        prevent Iran's development of a nuclear weapons capability and counter 
        its destabilizing policies'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) warns that time is limited to prevent the Government of 
        Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability;
            (2) urges continued and increasing economic and diplomatic 
        pressure on Iran to secure an agreement with the Government of 
        Iran that includes--
                    (A) the full and sustained suspension of all 
                uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activities;
                    (B) complete cooperation with the IAEA on all 
                outstanding questions related to Iran's nuclear 
                activities, including--
                            (i) the implementation of the Additional 
                        Protocol to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation 
                        of Nuclear Weapons; and
                            (ii) the verified end of Iran's ballistic 
                        missile programs; and
                    (C) a permanent agreement that verifiably assures 
                that Iran's nuclear program is entirely peaceful;
            (3) expresses support for the universal rights and 
        democratic aspirations of the Iranian people;
            (4) affirms that it is a vital national interest of the 
        United States to prevent the Government of Iran from acquiring 
        a nuclear weapons capability;
            (5) strongly supports United States policy to prevent the 
        Government of Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability;
            (6) rejects any United States policy that would rely on 
        efforts to contain a nuclear weapons-capable Iran; and
            (7) urges the President to reaffirm the unacceptability of 
        an Iran with nuclear-weapons capability and opposition to any 
        policy that would rely on containment as an option in response 
        to the Iranian nuclear threat.
                                 <all>