[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 1158-1159]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    PRESIDENT EARNS THREE PINOCCHIOS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Poe) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, ``Our diplomacy is at work with 
respect to Iran where, for the first time in a decade, we have halted 
the progress of its nuclear program and reduced its stockpile of 
nuclear material.''
  This absurd claim by the President last week earned him three 
Pinocchios from The Washington Post. Many disagree, including a former 
International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, official, who says:
  It appears that the production of centrifuge components continues. No 
new nuclear components have been installed, but it does not mean that 
the production of those came to a halt.
  For over a decade, the United States, along with the rest of the U.N. 
Security Council, has tried, but failed, to reach a deal with Tehran on 
its nuclear weapon program. Iran has defiantly marched toward 
developing nuclear weapons, while refusing to negotiate with the United 
States in good faith. Instead, its leaders have continued to call for 
the destruction of Israel and the destruction of the United States. 
Now, isn't that lovely.
  Just this November, in the midst of nuclear negotiations, the Iranian 
Revolutionary Guard Corps released this statement:
  The United States is still the great Satan and number one enemy of 
the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation.
  Iran's actions over the years are not surprising. After all, it is 
the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism. Using both its own 
military operatives and its proxy, Hezbollah, Iran has planned attacks, 
terror, and murder throughout the globe. Hezbollah is the puppet, but 
Iran pulls the strings.
  Finally, after years of Iran stalling and defying calls to halt its 
nuclear weapon development, the West played hardball with sanctions, 
primarily targeting Iran's bank and energy industries. The sanctions 
worked. Iran's GDP dropped for the first time in 20 years, and Iran 
finally came to the negotiating table.
  Then came the white flag and the great retreat of 2013. The 
administration relaxed sanctions just when Iran was beginning to feel 
the consequences of its actions. Relaxing sanctions has helped Iran, 
helped its economy, and resulted in Iran reverting to its defiant ways.
  Mr. Speaker, sanctions worked. Now is not the time to retreat, 
appease and play the Chamberlain. If anything, we should increase 
sanctions. Congress is trying to do that, but the President has now 
publicly told Congress--and Iran--that he will veto any legislation 
that increases sanctions. This seems to be at odds with United States 
national security. Negotiators in Europe and the U.S. want to relax 
sanctions. They are acting like timid sheep. They cannot lay down with 
the jackal of the desert, Iran, for they shall be his mutton meal. Mr. 
Speaker, loosening up on sanctions is foolish, dangerous, and not 
dealing in reality.
  Further, the Iranian negotiations do not even discuss 
intercontinental ballistic missiles. Why is Iran building 
intercontinental ballistic missiles? Prime Minister Netanyahu said it 
best:
  Iran isn't building ICBMs for Israel. They have missiles that can hit 
us. They are building ICBMs to hit America.
  Iran wants ICBMs to carry a nuclear weapon across the pond to us, the 
U.S. A top adviser to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani recently said:
  Obama is the weakest of all U.S. Presidents.
  Now is the time for the leader of the free world to prove Iran wrong. 
The world, including our enemies, are watching. The U.S. must make it 
clear and unequivocal: there will be no reductions in sanctions without 
verified steps to show that Tehran is abandoning, not just freezing, 
its nuclear weapon program. If Iran obtains nukes, the consequences are 
all bad. Israel will be less secure. The United States will be less 
secure. Other nations, like Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt, will all 
seek and obtain nukes to balance power in the Middle East.
  The Iranian Government cannot be dealt with like normal countries. 
This ``hug diplomacy'' with them is not in the national security 
interest of the U.S. Their Supreme Leader has never wavered on his 
religious and political agenda to destroy the United States. Iran must 
be forced to cease its nuclear weapon program by sanctions. We must 
impose such sanctions that cripple Iran's economy to force the Iranians 
to stop their nuclear weapon development. And hopefully at some point 
the people of Iran will soon have had

[[Page 1159]]

enough warmongering by its leaders and replace their government.
  And, Mr. Speaker, that is just the way it is.

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