[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 14608]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     IRAN SANCTIONS EXTENSION BILL

  Mr. McCONNELL. This week, Senators will have a chance to pass the 
Iran Sanctions Extension Act that recently passed the House on an 
overwhelming vote. Preserving these sanctions is critical, given Iran's 
disturbing pattern of aggression and its persistent efforts to expand 
its sphere of influence across the Middle East.
  This is all the more important, given how the administration has 
ignored Iran's overall efforts to upset the balance of power in the 
greater Middle East and how it has been held hostage by Iran's threats 
to withdraw from the nuclear agreement. The authorities extended by 
this bill give us some of the tools needed to impose sanctions if 
necessary to hold Iran accountable and help keep Americans safer from 
this threat.
  I expect that next year the new Congress and the new administration 
will undertake a review of our overall policy toward Iran, and these 
authorities should remain in place as we address how best to deal with 
Iranian missile tests, support to Hezbollah, and support of the Syrian 
regime.

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