[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 148 (Wednesday, October 14, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2522]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  IRAN SANCTIONS ENABLING ACT OF 2009

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. MIKE QUIGLEY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 13, 2009

  Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Iran 
Sanction Act.
  On September 25, we learned that Iran has been operating a secret 
uranium-enrichment plant in the city of Qom, capable of producing 
enriched uranium for bombs.
  The work at Qom has gone on for years in secret and despite five UN 
Security Council resolutions calling for Iran to cease all work on 
uranium.
  The Iranians continue to claim that their nuclear intentions are 
peaceful, but the recently discovered plant's ``size and 
configuration'' are ``inconsistent'' with peaceful purposes.
  If we had any doubt that Iran was pursuing nuclear weapons, the 
discovery at Qom dashed that doubt.
  Now the U.S. must do its part to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear 
weapons.
  The first step toward crippling Iran's progress toward a nuclear 
weapon is to impose the sanctions proposed in the bill before us today.
  The Iran Sanctions Act calls on state and local governments to cease 
investing public funds in companies that support Iran's oil and gas 
sector.
  A nuclear armed Iran is a threat to the entire region, particularly 
our friends in Israel, and could incite nuclear proliferation in the 
Middle East and around the world.
  We must do everything in our power to keep weapons of mass 
destruction out of the hands of the Iranians, and those efforts start 
today with this bill and these sanctions.

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