[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 115 (Friday, July 15, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1148]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              REGARDING H.R. 5631, H.R. 4992 AND H.R. 5119

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 14, 2016

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the three bills 
designed to weaken or undermine the nuclear agreement with Iran.
  According to the IAEA, which conducts thorough, systematic and 
regular evaluations of Iran's nuclear energy activities, Iran is 
complying with its obligations under the JCPOA. The core of the Arak 
plutonium reactor was dismantled and destroyed, 19,000 centrifuges were 
put under close IAEA surveillance and 98 percent of Iran's stockpile of 
enriched uranium was removed out of the country. As long as Iran 
continues to fulfill its commitments, it is important that the U.S. not 
jeopardize the accord by abandoning its own. That is why these bills 
are so reckless.
  H.R. 5631 requires the re-imposition of sanctions on individuals and 
entities that were delisted on Implementation Day; H.R. 4992 reapplies 
secondary sanctions on Iran's financial sector by prohibiting 
permissible financial transactions between Iran and the international 
community that are outside the U.S. financial system; and, H.R. 5119 
prevents the U.S. from procuring heavy water from Iran. The United 
States does not produce heavy water so American industries and labs 
which need nuclear material for research must seek out international 
sources. This bill will cut American companies off from that important 
resource while also forcing Iran to sell its heavy water on the 
international market, where it can fall into dangerous hands.
  The JCPOA is working. It has disassembled key elements of Iran's 
nuclear program and subjects the Iranians to unprecedented verification 
and monitoring requirements. As a result, all of Iran's pathways to a 
weapon have been blocked and the U.S. and our allies are safer. Taken 
together, these bills will require the U.S. to re-impose sanctions on 
Iran in violation of our obligation under the agreement to ``refrain 
from any policy specifically intended to directly and adversely affect 
the normalization of trade and economic relations with Iran.''
  The JCPOA does not threaten U.S. foreign policy objectives. It does 
not require the U.S. to abandon its sanctions on Iran for its human 
rights abuses or terrorist activities. Those sanctions were not 
affected by the JCPOA in any way. The U.S. also retains its right to 
target Iran's ballistic missiles activities and to penalize Iran for 
its destabilizing regional activities.
  Before the U.S. signed the agreement, the world was a significantly 
less safe place. Iran had thousands of centrifuges spinning to increase 
its large stockpile of enriched uranium and Iran was only two to three 
months away from developing a bomb. When the JCPOA was signed, Iran 
agreed to ship tens of thousands of pounds of enriched uranium out of 
the country, two-thirds of Iran's centrifuges were dismantled or 
removed, and the international community was provided unprecedented 
access to Iran's nuclear facilities and supply chain.
  These bills are not tough; they are foolish. They could recklessly 
endanger the security gains we have made as a result of the JCPOA.

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