[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 131 (Friday, September 11, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1259-E1260]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             APPROVAL OF JOINT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN OF ACTION

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. ANN WAGNER

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 10, 2015

  Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor today to reiterate my 
deep-seated belief that the Iran nuclear deal is a dangerous mistake of 
historic proportions.
  On my recent trip to Israel, I learned firsthand how the Iranian 
regime will use this deal to further its terrorist ambitions and 
threaten the peace and security of the entire Middle East.
  Because of the unprecedented number of concessions offered to the 
Iranians by the Obama Administration, this deal will do little to 
prevent Iran from ultimately obtaining a nuclear weapon.
  In actuality, instead of averting Iran's quest for the bomb, this 
deal will speed other nations' desire for nuclear arsenals and provide 
one of our greatest enemies with the resources it desperately needs. 
Resources that

[[Page E1260]]

Iran will turn around and use to fund attacks on our interests in the 
Middle East and beyond.
  We are providing our sworn enemy with the means to attack us, and all 
we get in exchange is a brief delay in their unending quest for a 
nuclear weapon.
  This terrible deal not only affords Iran legitimacy for a partial 
nuclear program at present, but allows them a full and unfettered 
program after 15 years.
  Mr. Speaker, under this deal, Iran will receive hundreds of billions 
of dollars in sanctions relief and be allowed access to advanced 
weaponry and ballistic missiles it can use to threaten its neighbors 
and the United States.
  Iran will be free to use the weapons and money provided by this 
agreement to fuel its terrorist aspirations around the region, 
threatening our ally Israel and further inflaming a region already in 
crisis.
  Under this deal, the world's number one sponsor of terrorism will 
suddenly have access to enormous resources that it can distribute to 
its allies Hamas, Hezbollah and the Assad regime in Syria.
  This is a completely unacceptable outcome for the United States, 
Israel, and our allies in the Middle East.
  Wagering the peace and security of the U.S., Israel and the world on 
the small chance that a hateful regime will suddenly see the error of 
its ways is not only wrong, it is dangerous.
  Mr. Speaker, the truth is that, no matter how much the President may 
wish it to be so, Iran's decades long record of terrorism, extremism 
and hate will not suddenly change simply because this deal has been 
signed.
  Our allies are almost uniformly opposed to this deal. On my recent 
trip to Israel, I had the honor and privilege of meeting with Prime 
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for over two hours.
  We discussed the Iran deal at length, and I came away even more 
convinced that this deal is not only foolhardy, it is dangerous.
  Prime Minister Netanyahu explained to us how the Obama Administration 
has sold out our Israeli allies to strike a deal with a murderous and 
untrustworthy Iranian regime.
  The President expects Congress to stand idly by and do nothing while 
he trades the security of the U.S. and its allies for a legacy-
burnishing accomplishment.
  He expects us to sit on the sidelines while his Administration offers 
one concession after another to the Iranians, and agrees on a deal that 
would endanger the stability of the entire Middle East and jeopardize 
U.S. national security.
  But that will not happen. We will not stand idly by while the 
American people's security is traded for some empty promises.
  A nuclear-armed Iran would start a new arms race in the Middle East 
and pose an intolerable threat to the national security of the United 
States and our allies, especially Israel.
  Mr. Speaker, for the sake of our children, and our children's 
children, we must face down this threat now before it is too late.
  I urge my colleagues to review this agreement with an eye towards 
history, towards the past, present and future of a region critical to 
America's national interests.
  Iran has a record of deception and hostility towards American 
interests, no amount of wishful thinking will change their core 
tendencies.
  Congress must use this opportunity to stand up for what is right.
  The United States must not capitulate in the face of persistent evil. 
We must stand together, united against the threat of a nuclear Iran, in 
order to guarantee a free and peaceful tomorrow.

                          ____________________