[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 118 (Friday, August 3, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1418-E1419]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        IRAN THREAT REDUCTION AND SYRIA HUMAN RIGHTS ACT OF 2012

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, August 1, 2012

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 1905, the 
Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012. This is yet 
another broad and indiscriminate sanctions bill that will only serve to 
hurt ordinary Iranian people, undermine their democracy movement and 
further tie the hands of the President and his team in their efforts to 
achieve a diplomatic resolution over its nuclear program.
  Proponents of this bill believe that tightening sanctions on Iran 
will bring us closer to a diplomatic solution with Iran. We only need 
to look to the latest round of failed talks to recognize that these 
sanctions achieved the exact opposite response. U.S. negotiators lacked 
the flexibility they needed to secure Iranian concessions through the 
freezing of certain sanctions.
  I strongly support Section 604 of this bill which makes clear that 
nothing in this bill shall be construed as a declaration of war or an 
authorization of the use of force against Iran or Syria. Yet this bill 
would further undermine and thwart the most effective tool we have to 
ensure that the United States does not get sucked into a war with Iran: 
diplomacy.


          The Effects of Sanctions on Ordinary Iranian People

  The Senate Banking Committee summarized this bill by saying that it 
``aims to prevent Iran from repatriating any of the revenue from sale 
of its crude oil, depriving Iran of hard currency earnings and funds to 
run its state budget.'' Spoken plainly, this bill will destroy the 
Iranian economy and further hurt the Iranian people that we claim to 
support. Iranians are already suffering under stifling sanctions as 
they experience rising food prices and a lack of access to basic 
medicine.
  For example, the sanctions against the Iranian banking sector have 
greatly diminished the value of Iranian currency and have had a 
negative effect on nearly every aspect of the lives of ordinary 
Iranians: the price of rent, education and bread have all increased. 
Rather than having the sanctions weaken the Iranian regime, they are 
weakening the Iranian people and their ability to make a living or 
pursue an education.
  A recent publication by the International Civil Society Action 
Network (ICAN) quotes an Iranian women's rights activist as saying that 
``The international community's sole focus on the nuclear issue has 
resulted in the adoption of policies that greatly inflict damage on the 
Iranian people, civil society and women. Militarization of the 
environment will prompt repressive state policies and the possibility 
of promoting reform in Iran will diminish.''
  The report further highlights that the sanctions this Congress pushed 
``directly affected the availability of foreign-made medication and 
other healthcare products including vitamins for children and pregnant 
women. . . .'' It points out that these sanctions are ``doing the most 
damage to those who are already vulnerable--the urban poor.''
  Iranian-Americans are even facing discrimination here in the United 
States. Several Iranian-Americans were recently prevented from buying 
an iPhone or other Apple products simply because of their ethnicity. 
Such discriminatory treatment is emblematic of the unintended effects 
of sanctions.


                 Undermining the Iranian Civil Society

  These sanctions directly undermine Iran's civil society by giving the 
regime an excuse to crack down even harder on internal dissent. These 
sanctions will ensure that this continues to happen. With many ordinary 
Iranians struggling to simply make ends meet under our sanctions 
regime, they cannot afford to or spend the time necessary participating 
in social movements which provide basic social services or to push for 
democratic change in their country. Are these the intended effects we 
wish to have on the Iranian people or Iranian-Americans? If not, 
passing another broad and indiscriminate sanctions bill sends the wrong 
message.

[[Page E1419]]

  If the sanctions the U.S. imposed on Iraq are any precedent, we know 
that sanctions are not an effective tool in promoting or supporting 
domestic democracy movements. We also know that those sanctions did not 
prevent an unnecessary and wasteful war with Iraq.
  In effect, the expansion of the broad and indiscriminate sanctions 
included in this legislation hurts our ability to negotiate with Iran 
and imposes long-term detrimental harm on the Iranian people. It 
detracts from the real human rights abuses currently occurring in Iran 
by allowing the regime to deflect blame on the United States and its 
allies.


        Supporting Regime Change and Tying the President's hands

  Section 217 in this bill effectively states that sanctions on Iran's 
central bank would not be lifted unless there is regime change. It does 
this by creating new requirements for the termination of sanctions that 
are dependent on the cessation of the Central Bank's financing of the 
Revolutionary Guard. Section 205 imposes new restrictions on the 
President's ability to waive certain sanctions. Collectively, these 
provisions have moved the goal post from negotiations over Iran's 
nuclear enrichment program to regime change. The U.S. record on 
successful regime changes is not impressive.
  The National Iranian American Council has pointed out that this 
legislation ``imposes collective punishment on the Iranian people by 
seeking to destroy the Iranian economy. The goal is to bankrupt Iran, 
and cause hyperinflation by destroying the value of Iran's currency, 
the rial.''
  If your goal is to punish the Iranian people, undermine their brave 
efforts to push for democracy, and thwart our sensitive and critical 
negotiations, then support this bill. If not, I urge you to join me in 
opposing this legislation.


              Syria Sanctions Included in This Legislation

  This legislation also requires the President to impose sanctions on 
actors that are responsible for or complicit in certain human rights 
abuses in Syria.
  This legislation fails to acknowledge that the United States and a 
number of our allies are actively participating in stoking the violence 
on the ground, including through the arming and support of Syrian rebel 
groups. Divisions and in-fighting within the various militias operating 
on the ground are already occurring. If our own intelligence agencies 
are unable to fully grasp what is transpiring on the ground in Syria, 
we can be sure that these targeted sanctions will overlook other non-
state actors that are participating in human rights abuses.
  Recent reports also indicate that the instability and chaos in Syria 
has opened the door for fundamentalist groups to move in, including Al 
Qaeda. This threatens stability in the region as a whole and U.S. 
allies in the region, including Israel.
  We can all agree that the violence in Syria must end. But in order to 
do that, supporters on both sides of the conflict must cease providing 
either side with the tools to continue this bloody conflict.

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