[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5736-5737]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 DENYING ADMISSION TO THE UNITED STATES

  Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, the nomination of Hamid Aboutalebi to be the 
Ambassador from the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations is a 
deliberate and unambiguous insult to the United States. Mr. Aboutalebi 
was an active participant in the terrorist group that took 52 Americans 
hostage on November 4, 1979, and held them for 444 days. There are no 
circumstances under which the United States should grant such a person 
a visa, and our immediate concern is to prevent Mr. Aboutalebi from 
ever setting foot on American soil.
  But this nomination is not an isolated incident that is taking place 
in a vacuum. It is part of Iran's clear and consistent pattern of 
virulent anti-Americanism that has defined their foreign policy since 
1979.
  Given the larger strategic threat to the United States and our allies 
represented by Iran's nuclear ambitions, this is not the moment for 
diplomatic niceties. We need to send Tehran an equally clear message: 
The Senate is not going to ignore this most recent insult but, rather, 
is going to give our President the authority to affirmatively reject 
it. Unanimous passage of the bill I have introduced, which specifies 
that engaging in terrorism against the United States is a basis to deny 
a foreign U.N. ambassador a visa to enter our country, will do just 
that, while also signaling to other unfriendly nations that we see this 
kind of offensive behavior for what it is, and we will not tolerate it.
  I wish in particular to thank Senator Coats, who is a cosponsor of 
this bill, as well as Senator Graham, Senator McCain, and Senator Kirk 
for their leadership. I also wish to thank my friends across the aisle 
and, in particular, Senator Schumer, Senator Leahy, and Senator 
Menendez for working together with my office to reach bipartisan 
agreement. I am proud to join with all of my colleagues on both sides 
of the aisle in this effort, and I am encouraged that we can all come 
together in a bipartisan manner on this national security issue that 
transcends political parties. I am encouraged that the Senate can speak 
unanimously in a bipartisan voice defending the interests of our 
Nation.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the 
Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of S. 2195 and the 
Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 2195) to deny admission to the United States to 
     any representative to the United Nations who has engaged in 
     espionage activities against the United States, poses a 
     threat to United States national security interests, or has 
     engaged in a terrorist activity against the United States.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Cruz 
amendment at the desk be agreed to, the bill be read a third time and 
passed, the Cruz amendment to the title be agreed to, and the motions 
to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 2960) was agreed to, as follows:

       On page 2, line 4, insert ``been found to have been'' after 
     ``has''.

  The bill (S. 2195), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a 
third reading, was read the third time, and passed, as follows:

                                S. 2195

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. VISA LIMITATION FOR CERTAIN REPRESENTATIVES TO THE 
                   UNITED NATIONS.

       Section 407(a) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, 
     Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 (8 U.S.C. 1102 note) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``such individual has been found to have 
     been engaged in espionage activities'' and inserting the 
     following: ``such individual--
       ``(1) has been found to have been engaged in espionage 
     activities or a terrorist activity (as defined in section 
     212(a)(3)(B)(iii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(iii)))''; and
       (2) by striking ``allies and may pose'' and inserting the 
     following: ``allies; and
       ``(2) may pose''.

  The amendment (No. 2961) was agreed to, as follows:

       Amend the title so as to read: ``A bill to deny admission 
     to the United States to any representative to the United 
     Nations who has been found to have been engaged in espionage 
     activities or a terrorist activity against the United States 
     and poses a threat to United States national security 
     interests.''.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New York.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I know my colleagues and good friends are 
waiting. I will be very brief. I agree with the Senator from Texas that 
it was totally inappropriate that Mr. Aboutalebi was nominated in the 
first place. He was a member of the Muslim Student Followers of the 
Imam's Line, the group that seized the embassy on November 4, 1979, and 
held American staff hostage until 1981. There were New Yorkers I knew 
among that group.
  While I believe that Mr. Aboutalebi's actions certainly would have 
made him ineligible for a visa under the Immigration and Nationality 
Act, I believe it is worth it to clear up all doubt about our ability 
to deny him a visa under U.S. law by passing this bill.
  I am fully aware that now is a sensitive time in our negotiations 
with Iran regarding the future of the nuclear program. Nevertheless, it 
is exactly for this reason that Iran's leadership should not have 
unnecessarily escalated tensions with the United States by seeking to 
appoint an ambassador to the United Nations who materially aided 
terrorists who abducted American citizens. We should not further 
aggravate the pain of the individuals and families who suffered through 
the hostage crisis by allowing this individual to have a visa and 
diplomatic immunity within the United States.
  So I support this legislation. I am glad it has moved forward in a 
bipartisan way. I thank my colleagues from both sides of the aisle for 
supporting this legislation.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Carolina.
  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I wish to recognize that this is a very 
important moment for the Senate to speak with one voice at a time when 
I think it matters to former hostages and their families. We heard you, 
Senator Cruz heard you, I heard you, and our friends on the other side 
heard you. So it is good to know that the Senate is listening to people 
who have suffered in the past from this regime and Iran.
  To Senators Leahy, Menendez, and Schumer, thank you very much for 
working with Senator Cruz so we could reach this moment. I will do 
everything I can to get the House to act accordingly.
  At the end of the day, it is very important that the Iranians not 
mistake how we view them. We have had our differences about Syria. We 
have had foreign policy disputes between the administration and 
Republicans, and sometimes Democrats, regarding how to move forward in 
the world. But this is a unique moment when all 100 Senators support 
the following statement to the Iranians: We remember who you are. We 
remember what you have done to our country and to our fellow citizens, 
and we are not going to forget. If you are listening in Iran, we have a 
very clear-eyed view in the Senate of who we are dealing with. So this 
is a very appropriate time to speak with one voice. I hope the Iranians 
will understand that we are resolved, Republicans and Democrats, to 
make sure they never possess a nuclear weapon.
  With that, I yield the floor.

[[Page 5737]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, as a cosponsor of this legislation, I 
applaud my colleagues who are here tonight. I think this is the right 
message to send. It is a sensitive time, so therefore we need to stand 
and be counted. I hope the House will act swiftly on this legislation.

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