[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 45 (Monday, March 16, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H3418-H3419]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             IRANIAN THREAT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, while much of the attention here in 
Congress is focused on the difficulties here at home, as we have heard 
in speeches this evening, rising unemployment rates, home mortgage 
foreclosures, increasing health care costs, stock market decline, I 
rise tonight to remind us that we cannot forget about the pressing 
challenges to global stability and our national security interest posed 
by Iran.
  One of the best ways to understand the seriousness of the Iranian 
threat is to listen to the words of its leaders. Iran's President has 
called the Holocaust a lie, has said that Israel ``must be wiped off 
the map'' and frequently speaks about a future world in which 
``Israelis will be eradicated'' and Israel no longer exists. Iran's 
supreme leader joined in this hateful refrain recently when he called 
Israel a cancerous tumor.
  The hatred of Iran's leaders is not just directed at Israel. 
Ahmadinejad has called American objectives and influence ``Satanic'' 
and has spoken before crowds that chant ``death to America.'' Such 
aggressive and intolerable words are not just simply rhetoric. They 
represent the policies of a government committed to terror and 
destruction.
  Iran is the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism and is 
pursuing a nuclear program in defiance of three United Nations Security 
Council resolutions. Iran's support for terrorist groups Hezbollah and 
Hamas have enabled these organizations to carry out attacks on Israel 
and kill innocent civilians. With training and other assistance from 
Iran, Hamas increased the range of its rockets so now 1 million 
Israelis are within the scope of attack.
  Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons threatens Israel, other nations in 
the region and our U.S. national security. No government that calls for 
the complete destruction of another nation should be allowed to have 
nuclear weapons. Yet Iran continues to move closer and closer to being 
capable of constructing such a weapon.
  Although Iran reportedly does not currently have a sufficient amount 
of highly-enriched uranium to build a nuclear weapon, Iran does possess 
enough low-enriched uranium that can be converted into material needed 
to create an atomic bomb. Using existing centrifuges, Iran could enrich 
its low-level uranium to that of weapons grade in several months.
  Time is not on our side. The Obama administration must back 
engagement with tougher sanctions and guard against Iranian diversions 
and delays. Appropriate economic, political, and diplomatic means are 
the best tools we have to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
  Last year I cosponsored legislation that declared it was in the 
national interests of the U.S. to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear 
weapons and urged the President to impose tough sanctions on Iran, 
specifically its banks engaged in proliferation activities and 
companies doing business with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard.

                              {time}  1945

  I also voted in favor of legislation that expanded the types of 
entities in Iran that are subject to sanction and allowed state and 
local governments and individuals to divest in any company that invests 
in Iran's energy sectors.
  America's efforts must go further. I support sanctioning Iran's 
Central bank and foreign banks that conduct transactions with 
sanctioned Iranian entities. Efforts to prohibit the export to Iran of 
refined petroleum products should be pursued.
  Israel is one of America's closest allies and plays a central role in 
the peace and security of the most volatile region of the world. We 
must continue to demonstrate our support for our Israeli friends in the 
face of continued defiance and threats.
  A nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable. I urge my colleagues in 
Congress

[[Page H3419]]

and the Obama administration to act with the urgency this situation 
demands and devote the necessary attention to this serious threat. 
While there are problems at home that require our attention, we must 
not waiver in our efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear 
weapons.

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