[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13842]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                  IRAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, our vote on the nuclear agreement with 
Iran will be the most important decision I have made in Congress since 
voting against the disastrous Iraq war.
  I am under no illusions that the clerics and military that run Iran 
are friends of the United States. To the contrary, they are engaged in 
activities that are opposed to the United States interests and those of 
many of our friends and allies.
  This agreement does not resolve all our differences, change Iranian 
behaviors, or provide greater freedom for its people. What it does do 
is give the world 15 years of security to prevent Iran from developing 
nuclear weapons.
  It also demonstrates our ability to work with our international 
partners--France, Great Britain, Germany, especially Russia and China--
to bring Iran to the negotiating table, to force them to make important 
concessions, and to retain the ability to re-impose crippling sanctions 
if they violate the agreement.
  It has a strong mechanism for surveillance and snapping back 
sanctions to give us confidence that it is strongly in the Iranians' 
interest to comply.
  Fifteen years is not forever. But taking the current nuclear breakout 
time of less than 15 weeks for Iran to a minimum of a year and having 
assurance for 15 years is a remarkable achievement.
  The alternative is not ``a better deal.'' There is no evidence that 
there is something beyond this agreement that the Iranians would agree 
with or, most critically, that has the support of the other five 
countries that made this agreement possible in the first place.
  The alternative is for the United States to lose the support of our 
allies so that Iran gets access to its money anyway, the partnership 
dissolves, and this important moment is lost.
  The United States still retains the ability to walk away from the 
deal if it is rejected or violated by Iran. This puts us in a much 
stronger position to re-impose sanctions with more leverage going 
forward.
  In the final analysis, the United States or Israel, for that matter, 
can always resort to military force. But it is far better, however, to 
make this agreement work, to monitor and enforce it, and build on this 
unique international partnership.
  Our work will not be done in the Middle East with Iran, even if this 
agreement is adopted and Iran abides by it. We still must be prepared 
to confront Iran where they are involved with aggressive action against 
other countries, especially our allies.
  We must be prepared to support our friends in the Middle East, like 
Israel and Saudi Arabia. We must be prepared to make the diplomatic 
efforts and demonstrate commitment and resolve wherever it is 
necessary.
  Those who would resort to force in the first instance will always 
retain that option.
  We risk little trying to make diplomacy with rigorous inspections 
work and to strengthen the partnership with countries that made this 
agreement possible, to redouble our ongoing efforts to stabilize this 
deeply troubled Middle East region.
  The agreement doesn't solve our problems, but it simplifies one of 
the greatest threats to the Middle East, not just Iranian nuclear 
weapons, but a potential nuclear arms race with potentially 
catastrophic results.
  I am comfortable being in agreement with some of the most 
distinguished leaders of past American administrations, both Republican 
and Democratic, who have agreed, notwithstanding their reservations and 
cautions, that the acceptance of this agreement is the best path 
forward for the United States and world peace.
  It is sad that, for the very first time, a critical American foreign 
policy decision has become so partisan in Congress. But the weight of 
evidence is for the agreement to be adopted, and we should do so.

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