[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 110 (Wednesday, July 15, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H5219-H5220]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PURSUING PEACE THROUGH DIPLOMACY
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Young of Iowa). Under the Speaker's
announced policy of January 6, 2015, the gentlewoman from New Jersey
(Mrs. Watson Coleman) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of
the minority leader.
General Leave
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the United States and
our allies reached a landmark agreement with Iran to prevent them from
obtaining a nuclear weapon.
To get to this point, Mr. Speaker, we used diplomacy to find a
potential solution that seeks to stabilize the entire Middle East
region. Diplomacy affords us a clearer picture of what the Iranian
Government is doing and what they are capable of.
We used peaceful means to promote peace in one of the most volatile
regions in the world, and I am proud of the commitment of President
Obama, this administration, and our allies, in keeping these
negotiations alive.
Mr. Speaker, I am not saying that our job is done. Congress must and
should take a very close look at this agreement in its final form. In
fact, I firmly believe that Congress has a critical role to play in the
next steps of this agreement.
Let's look at what this agreement does. Within the text, Iran affirms
that it will not seek, develop, or acquire a nuclear weapon; but we
must ensure that the language will fully deter them from going back on
their word and duly punish them if they take that path.
Within the text of the agreement, we accept that the United States
will lift the sanctions that we have placed on Iran, but we must have
mechanisms that will allow for oversight on the ground in Iran that
holds them accountable.
This is a difficult and sensitive balance, but if this agreement has
managed to strike that balance, we would miss a once-in-a-generation
opportunity to transform the Middle East if we reject this deal. That
is not something we can afford to flippantly dismiss.
What this teaches us, Mr. Speaker, is that aggression is not the only
answer we have to handle difficult relations across the globe. In fact,
aggression would not have brought us to this point where, without any
loss of life for us or our allies, without significant cost to our
Nation or the global economy, we have managed to find compromise.
Sanctions cannot and should not be the only way we bring nations to
the table. They serve a critical purpose, and certainly, they helped in
bringing us to this point.
They also come at a significant cost; rather than starving their
government
[[Page H5220]]
in the way we thought they would, they pushed the government to starve
its people, resulting in vast unemployment and limited opportunity for
a generation of Iranians and probably fertile ground for the
radicalization of individuals.
They pushed Iran to ally itself with international actors that
further hampered our efforts to stabilize this region. They pushed Iran
towards total isolation, a situation in which we have no impact
whatsoever. At some point, sanctions that have at points been effective
become obsolete and counterproductive.
I would not ask any of my colleagues to support a deal that does not
achieve our chief purpose, preventing a nuclear-armed Iran, with the
ability to wreak havoc on the United States, our allies, and the world.
I will also ask my colleagues to consider the alternative if we fail
to ratify a deal that would meet these goals appropriately, pushing
Iran further into the shadows; giving us no chance at monitoring how,
where, and when Iran is enriching uranium; and sending Iran further
into the arms of bad actors or offering Iran even greater motivation to
undermine basic international law.
I have one pretty solid idea of the outcome: a dangerous, complicated
war that would drag what is likely the most volatile region in the
world into complete chaos.
This agreement may be the best chance to put Iran at the table and
keep them accountable, to engage the international community in
monitoring their activities, to operate in the known and not the
unknown of what they are capable of, and to give them a reason to seek
the same kind of international peace that every country desperately
relies upon.
Further aggression, further sanctions, further isolation can no
longer be our answer, especially when we have been given a real
opportunity to open the door to peace.
I urge my colleagues to give this agreement real consideration. I
urge my colleagues to read this agreement. I urge my colleagues to
approach this agreement without partisan or political bias.
It is time to give peace a chance.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me start by thanking Bonnie Watson Coleman
for leading this important special order and for her leadership on
these issues.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, President Obama announced that the United
States--along with our P5+1 negotiating partners--had reached a deal
with Iran--a deal that if fully implemented, will prevent Iran from
obtaining a nuclear weapon.
As someone who has long supported sustained diplomatic engagement
with Iran, I applaud President Obama, Secretary Kerry, and our P5+1
partners for their tireless work to obtain a deal which promotes peace
and global security.
In the 112th and 113th Congresses, I introduced a bill--the Prevent
Iran from Acquiring Nuclear Weapons and Stop War Through Diplomacy
Act--that called on the President to use all diplomatic means to
resolve the nuclear issue with Iran. It urged the President to ``secure
an agreement that ensures Iran does not engage in nuclear weapons
work,'' through increased safeguards and international Inspections,
Yesterday's announcement demonstrates just how effective that type of
sustained engagement and diplomacy can be.
When fully implemented, this deal--or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action--will prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon while ensuring greater
stability in the Middle East. The deal is an important victory for
diplomacy and America's leadership abroad as well as for United States
national security and of course for global peace and security.
And as the President said yesterday during his announcement--``This
deal meets every single one of the bottom lines we established when we
achieved a framework earlier this spring. Every pathway to a nuclear
weapon is cut off.''
Prior to yesterday's announcement, negotiations with Iran had already
led to a first-step agreement that has significant reduced Iran's
nuclear stockpile and their ability to create a nuclear weapon. Without
those negotiations and the framework agreements, Iran's nuclear program
would have been unmonitored, unrestrained and Iran would have continued
the production of medium enriched uranium.
Now, we know that more work remains. The deal has to go to the United
Nations Security Council--and Congress now has 60 days to review the
terms of the agreement.
Mr. Speaker, all of us share the same goal; preventing Iran from
developing a nuclear weapon.
That is why it is critical--as this process moves forward--that
Congress act in good faith and ensure the success of this agreement.
This negotiated deal, between Iran and our international partners,
remains the best route to ensuring national and regional security while
preventing another war in the Middle East.
We simply cannot afford the alternative to this deal.
Diplomacy is the best way to cut off any potential pathways to an
Iranian nuclear weapon.
It is the best way to ensure oversight and inspection.
And it is the best way to ensure regional security.
So I urge my colleagues to support the President, support our
negotiators, and to give this deal the chance to succeed.
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