Date: 2010-04-22
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I thank the chairman very much both for his leadership and for this opportunity. with the ranking member. to really discuss and reinforce some of the principles that many of us support in a bipartisan manner. But I rise today to simply encourage the conference on this legislation and to be able to simply chronicle efforts that I think were not wasteful. but constructive. I do believe the administrations effort at engagement was constructive and not wasteful. It is always importantfor those of who us are lawyersto create the record. the building blocks for the final decision of the court of law. In this instance. the court of law is the combination of the American people. this Congress. and this administration. and it is. likewise. the world community. the United Nations. Also. the people of Iran are speaking and they are speaking loudly. No one can forget that fateful picture of a young lady lying in her own blood during the uprising of the people of Iran. not provoked by any world standards or provocation. but for the people of Iran simply saying enough of the despotism of this administration. of their country. enough is enough. They were willing to die in the streets. They took to the buildings to make loud noises at night. and they continue to pounce over and over again. Iran is a challenge. and it is a terror around the world. Having just come back from Yemen. Bahrain. Qatar. and Pakistan. everywhere you went individuals. leaders in government were willing to indicate what a threat Iran was. Just yesterday. in a hearing on Syria. questions are now rising as to Irans participation in funding Hezbollah to go into Lebanon. Of course some of those particular points are being denied. but frankly I think if there is any reason to move forward on a conference. it is the concept of the disruption of Iran in the region. There are those who are in the Mid East who want peace. From Jordan. to Israel. to other places around. they want peace. If we begin to look at Yemen. that is in a distant location. a place where I visited. we know that it is an al Qaeda cesspool. We know that there are young men there that are susceptible to recruitment. All of this provides for a disruptive arena. and we here in this country must provide the moral standing of peace and democracy for those who desire so. So I rise to support the people of Iran. those who are willing to sacrifice their lives and go into the streets. And it is well known that whatever we have tried to do. the engagement of the Cold War. the standoff. Iran continues to seemingly put forward its nuclear efforts. I ask for support of this legislation. and I ask my colleagues to vote for this motion to instruct. Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of H.R. 2194. the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act of 2009. This legislation provides another tool for the President to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons by allowing the administration to sanction foreign firms who attempt to supply refined gasoline to Iran or provide them with the materials to enhance their oil refineries. These sanctions would further restrict the government of Irans ability to procure refined petroleum. Currently. the availability of petroleum products is stagnant in Iran. Private firms have decided that the government of Irans refusal to cooperate with the multilateral community on nuclear proliferation generates a significant risk to doing business with Iran. I would like to thank Chairman BERMAN for incorporating 1 my concerns about the human rights situation in Iran into the findings of this legislation. It is important that we acknowledge that. throughout 2009. the government of Iran has persistently violated the rights of its citizens. The government of Irans most overt display of disregard for human rights happened in the presidential elections on June 12. 2009. As I said on June 19. 2009. "We must condemn Iran for the absence of fair and free Presidential elections and urge Iran to provide its people with the opportunity to engage in a Democratic election process." The repression and murder. arbitrary arrests. and show trials of peaceful dissidents in the wake of the elections were a sad reminder of the government of Irans long history of human rights violations. The latest violations were the most recent iteration of the government of Irans wanton suppression of the freedom of expression. It is important that we are clear that our concerns are with the government of Iran and not its people. The State Departments Human Rights Report on Iran provides a bleak picture of life in Iran. The government of Iran. through its denial of the democratic process and repression of dissent has prevented the people from determining their own future. Moreover. it is the government of Iran that persecutes its ethnic minorities and denies the free expression of religion. As we proceed with consideration of this legislation. we should all remember that the sole target of these sanctions is the Iranian government. Mr. Speaker. the government of Iran has repeatedly shown its disdain for the international community by disregarding international nonproliferation agreements. Irans flagrant violation of nonproliferation agreements was evidenced most recently in the discovery of the secret enrichment facility at Qom. The government of Irans continued threats against Israel. opposition to the Middle East peace process. and support of international terrorist organizations further demonstrate the necessity for action. Irans recent actions towards the international community reflect a very small measure of progress. Irans decision to allow International Atomic Energy Agency. IAEA. inspectors to visit this facility was a positive sign. but not a sufficient indication of their willingness to comply with international agreements. The recent announcement that Iran will accept a nuclear fuel deal is also indicative of their willingness to engage in dialogue. though it remains to be seen what amendments they will seek to the deal. While these actions indicate a small degree of improvement in Irans position. the legislation before us today demonstrates that only continued dialogue and positive actions will soften the international communitys stance towards Iran. I would also like to emphasize that the legislation before us provides only one tool for achieving Irans compliance with international nonproliferation agreements. I continue to support the administrations policy of engagement with Iran and use of diplomatic talks. I believe that diplomacy and multilateralism are the most valuable tools we have to create change in Iran. After those tools fail. I believe that the sanctions are an appropriate recourse.