On the recordJuly 31, 2013
I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, there is no higher national security priority than preventing a nuclear-armed Iran. Foreign Affairs Ranking Member Engel and I have worked closely in a bipartisan way to bring this legislation to the floor, and we do it with unanimous support of the members of the Foreign Affairs Committee, all Democrats and all Republicans on that committee. Indeed, 375 Members of the House are cosponsors of this legislation. That's the broad recognition that exists right now, that more needs to be done to stop Iran's nuclear program, which is a danger not only to us in the United States, but certainly to the region and to the world. Today, we act with that sense of urgency, urgency because Iran's march to nuclear weapons continues. In less than 2 years, the International Atomic Energy Agency has told us that they have doubled in Iran the installed centrifuges at the facilities at Natanz and Fordo. They've doubled those from 8,500 to more than 15,700 centrifuges. And these new centrifuges, many of them are five times more powerful. They spin much faster than those earlier models. A key facility is buried deep below a mountain, and Iran continues to stonewall the IAEA on its development of nuclear explosive devices. So Iran's intent to develop this weapons capability is very evident.…
