On the recordDecember 14, 2011
I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of section 1245 in the conference report to the NDAA that would require what we hope are crippling sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran. These provisions, offered as a bipartisan amendment in the other Chamber and approved by a unanimous vote, would severely limit the funding available for the Iranian regime to use in its pursuit of nuclear weapons. I have introduced similar legislation as a stand-alone bill here in Congress, and we also wrote a letter encouraging the conferees to accept this language. I am pleased that they did. There is no silver bullet when it comes to stopping the Iranian regime from acquiring nuclear weapons, but if there is any sweet spot where we can make a difference, it is with the Central Bank of Iran. And so I am pleased that this provision is in the bill, and I would urge adoption of that section all the way through the process. And I hope that this signals our intent certainly to ensure that Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons.
