[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11654-11655]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    PURSUING PEACE THROUGH DIPLOMACY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Young of Iowa). Under the Speaker's 
announced policy of January 6, 2015, the gentlewoman from New Jersey 
(Mrs. Watson Coleman) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of 
the minority leader.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the United States and 
our allies reached a landmark agreement with Iran to prevent them from 
obtaining a nuclear weapon.
  To get to this point, Mr. Speaker, we used diplomacy to find a 
potential solution that seeks to stabilize the entire Middle East 
region. Diplomacy affords us a clearer picture of what the Iranian 
Government is doing and what they are capable of.
  We used peaceful means to promote peace in one of the most volatile 
regions in the world, and I am proud of the commitment of President 
Obama, this administration, and our allies, in keeping these 
negotiations alive.
  Mr. Speaker, I am not saying that our job is done. Congress must and 
should take a very close look at this agreement in its final form. In 
fact, I firmly believe that Congress has a critical role to play in the 
next steps of this agreement.
  Let's look at what this agreement does. Within the text, Iran affirms 
that it will not seek, develop, or acquire a nuclear weapon; but we 
must ensure that the language will fully deter them from going back on 
their word and duly punish them if they take that path.
  Within the text of the agreement, we accept that the United States 
will lift the sanctions that we have placed on Iran, but we must have 
mechanisms that will allow for oversight on the ground in Iran that 
holds them accountable.
  This is a difficult and sensitive balance, but if this agreement has 
managed to strike that balance, we would miss a once-in-a-generation 
opportunity to transform the Middle East if we reject this deal. That 
is not something we can afford to flippantly dismiss.
  What this teaches us, Mr. Speaker, is that aggression is not the only 
answer we have to handle difficult relations across the globe. In fact, 
aggression would not have brought us to this point where, without any 
loss of life for us or our allies, without significant cost to our 
Nation or the global economy, we have managed to find compromise.
  Sanctions cannot and should not be the only way we bring nations to 
the table. They serve a critical purpose, and certainly, they helped in 
bringing us to this point.
  They also come at a significant cost; rather than starving their 
government in the way we thought they would, they pushed the government 
to starve its people, resulting in vast unemployment and limited 
opportunity for a generation of Iranians and probably fertile ground 
for the radicalization of individuals.
  They pushed Iran to ally itself with international actors that 
further hampered our efforts to stabilize this region. They pushed Iran 
towards total isolation, a situation in which we have no impact 
whatsoever. At some point, sanctions that have at points been effective 
become obsolete and counterproductive.
  I would not ask any of my colleagues to support a deal that does not 
achieve our chief purpose, preventing a nuclear-armed Iran, with the 
ability to wreak havoc on the United States, our allies, and the world.
  I will also ask my colleagues to consider the alternative if we fail 
to ratify a deal that would meet these goals appropriately, pushing 
Iran further into the shadows; giving us no chance at monitoring how, 
where, and when Iran is enriching uranium; and sending Iran further 
into the arms of bad actors or offering Iran even greater motivation to 
undermine basic international law.
  I have one pretty solid idea of the outcome: a dangerous, complicated 
war that would drag what is likely the most volatile region in the 
world into complete chaos.
  This agreement may be the best chance to put Iran at the table and 
keep them accountable, to engage the international community in 
monitoring their activities, to operate in the known and not the 
unknown of what they are capable of, and to give them a reason to seek 
the same kind of international peace that every country desperately 
relies upon.
  Further aggression, further sanctions, further isolation can no 
longer be our answer, especially when we have been given a real 
opportunity to open the door to peace.
  I urge my colleagues to give this agreement real consideration. I 
urge my colleagues to read this agreement. I urge my colleagues to 
approach this agreement without partisan or political bias.
  It is time to give peace a chance.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me start by thanking Bonnie Watson Coleman 
for leading this important special order and for her leadership on 
these issues.
  Mr. Speaker, yesterday, President Obama announced that the United 
States--along with our P5+1 negotiating partners--had reached a deal 
with Iran--a deal that if fully implemented, will prevent Iran from 
obtaining a nuclear weapon.
  As someone who has long supported sustained diplomatic engagement 
with Iran, I applaud President Obama, Secretary Kerry, and our P5+1 
partners for their tireless work to obtain a deal which promotes peace 
and global security.
  In the 112th and 113th Congresses, I introduced a bill--the Prevent 
Iran from Acquiring Nuclear Weapons and Stop War Through Diplomacy 
Act--that called on the President to use all diplomatic means to 
resolve the nuclear issue with Iran. It urged the President to ``secure 
an agreement that ensures Iran does not engage in nuclear weapons 
work,'' through increased safeguards and international Inspections.
  Yesterday's announcement demonstrates just how effective that type of 
sustained engagement and diplomacy can be.
  When fully implemented, this deal--or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of 
Action--will prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon while ensuring greater 
stability in the Middle East. The deal is an important victory for 
diplomacy and America's leadership abroad as well as for United States 
national security and of course for global peace and security.
  And as the President said yesterday during his announcement--``This 
deal meets every single one of the bottom lines we established

[[Page 11655]]

when we achieved a framework earlier this spring. Every pathway to a 
nuclear weapon is cut off.''
  Prior to yesterday's announcement, negotiations with Iran had already 
led to a first-step agreement that has significant reduced Iran's 
nuclear stockpile and their ability to create a nuclear weapon. Without 
those negotiations and the framework agreements, Iran's nuclear program 
would have been unmonitored, unrestrained and Iran would have continued 
the production of medium enriched uranium.
  Now, we know that more work remains. The deal has to go to the United 
Nations Security Council--and Congress now has 60 days to review the 
terms of the agreement.
  Mr. Speaker, all of us share the same goal; preventing Iran from 
developing a nuclear weapon.
  That is why it is critical--as this process moves forward--that 
Congress act in good faith and ensure the success of this agreement.
  This negotiated deal, between Iran and our international partners, 
remains the best route to ensuring national and regional security while 
preventing another war in the Middle East.
  We simply cannot afford the alternative to this deal.
  Diplomacy is the best way to cut off any potential pathways to an 
Iranian nuclear weapon.
  It is the best way to ensure oversight and inspection.
  And it is the best way to ensure regional security.
  So I urge my colleagues to support the President, support our 
negotiators, and to give this deal the chance to succeed.

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