[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 29, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H4970]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1830
                  NEVER AGAIN: WHAT WE DO DOES MATTER

  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. Madam Speaker, a few weeks ago, I came to this 
House floor to address my colleagues and bring to their attention the 
danger that Iran poses to Israel. I shared with my colleagues some of 
the things that the Iranian leader had said about Israel to illustrate 
the seriousness of the threat.
  Madam Speaker, the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has again 
spoken. Last week, at the opening day of the United Nations Anti-Racism 
Conference, the Iranian President was given a platform on which to 
spread racist and hateful views. In his address to the conference, he 
called Israel ``the most cruel and racist regime,'' said that Zionism 
``is a paragon of racism,'' and said the creation of Israel was founded 
on ``the pretext of Jewish sufferings and the ambiguous and dubious 
question of the Holocaust.''
  While the Iranian leader's comments are disturbing in any context, it 
is even more troublesome that he would question the Holocaust on the 
day before we celebrated the Holocaust Remembrance.
  It is hard to understand how the United Nations and so many other 
countries fail to take the Iranian threat seriously. It is more than 
ironic that the U.N. would give one who has denied the Holocaust and 
advocated for the destruction of Israel the opportunity to speak at a 
conference convened to combat hatred and racism.
  Although the United States and a few countries had the sense to 
boycott the summit and thereby refuse to lend credibility to the 
conference and speakers like Ahmadinejad, too many nations continue to 
act with complacency.
  Last Thursday, our Nation's leaders gathered in our Rotunda here in 
the Capitol for the National Commemoration of the Day of Remembrance to 
remember the 6 million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust. The 
theme of this year's events was, ``Never Again: What You Do Matters.'' 
That theme is a message for all of us to take very seriously.
  When we say ``never again,'' we need to think about the current 
threats to peace and security and take appropriate action to prevent 
senseless violence. Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons is an existential 
threat to the people of Israel and a grave danger to the rest of the 
world.
  Madam Speaker, the things we do do matter. It is time for us to join 
together and confront this Iranian threat.
  Today, Israel celebrates its 61st anniversary of its independence; 
again, a day in which we ought to remember the threat that still 
remains. Congress can take action to address this threat by approving 
H.R. 1327, the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act, and H.R. 1985, the Iran 
Diplomatic Enhancement Act.
  The Iran Sanctions Enabling Act gives States and local governments 
the authority to divest their assets from any company that invests $20 
million or more in Iran's energy sector. The other piece of 
legislation, H.R. 1985, would sanction any entity engaged in activities 
that contribute to Iran's ability to import gasoline or fine petroleum.
  I am a sponsor of these bills, and I believe that sanctions will 
increase pressure on the Iranian regime to change course and abandon 
its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
  The Days of Remembrance call us to soberly evaluate the changes to 
peace we face and take swift action as best we can to address them.
  Madam Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to quickly approve 
the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act and the Iran Diplomatic Enhancement 
Act. ``Never again: What we do does matter.''

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