[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 9171-9172]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        IRAN'S NUCLEAR AMBITIONS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaMalfa). The Chair recognizes the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bentivolio) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BENTIVOLIO. Mr. Speaker, I am gravely concerned about the threat 
of a nuclear-armed Iran and the status of the current negotiations 
between P5+1 in Iran.
  As Iran has moved off the front pages over the past few months, I 
fear that the Iranians are becoming increasingly emboldened. With less 
than 2 months until the current Joint Plan of Action expires, we have 
yet to see real concessions from the Iranians. In fact, President 
Rouhani, supposedly a moderate, said just weeks ago that Iran will 
offer only transparency in a final agreement.
  What good is transparency if Iran can continue to spin uranium and 
charge forward towards a nuclear weapon?
  While the administration is responsible for representing the United 
States with the P5+1, it is important to remember that Congress has a 
very important role to play in this process. Congress has made it very 
clear that any final deal with Iran must lead to the dismantlement of 
Iran's nuclear infrastructure, and we must continue to reiterate this. 
It is unacceptable for the P5+1 to strike a deal that allows Iran any 
pathway to a nuclear weapon.
  Additionally, Congress must continue to insist that Iran does not 
extend the negotiations and use them as a stalling tactic to advance 
its program. If the Joint Plan of Action is extended beyond the July 20 
deadline, Iran must make real and meaningful concessions and convince 
us that it is not simply stalling. If Iran violates the current 
agreement or if it refuses to negotiate an acceptable final agreement, 
Congress must move immediately to impose dramatic new sanctions on the 
regime.
  The administration must also remember that the implementation of any 
agreement will almost definitely require congressional approval. The 
President cannot unilaterally lift sanctions. It must come back to 
Congress for that.
  So why hasn't the administration kept us apprised of the 
negotiations? It cannot expect Congress to automatically accept any 
agreement it comes up

[[Page 9172]]

with. Congress needs to be an active partner in this process.
  I urge the administration to provide Congress with increased 
transparency and to consult Congress on elements of the deal. It is 
imperative that Congress plays a critical role throughout this process.
  We must continue to insist that any final agreement with Iran ensures 
the dismantlement of Iran's nuclear infrastructure and that Iran has no 
pathway to a bomb. A nuclear-armed Iran would be a national security 
disaster. We must do everything we can to prevent Iran from acquiring a 
nuclear weapon, and that includes a congressional role in the current 
negotiations.

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