On the recordSeptember 10, 2015
I thank my good friend for yielding to me on this important subject for our country today and in the foreseeable future. Mr. Speaker, while many Republicans have been trying to find a way, just this very day, not to have a vote on the Iran agreement, I have been searching for a way to represent my 650,000 constituents by voting on any version offered. Five nations, whose systems differ from one another in every conceivable way, and the United Nations have approved this deal, but the Republicans are torn on whether to even vote on the deal at all. No wonder. Left with no credible argument against the deal, itself, Republicans have changed the subject, even knowing that Iran is close to getting the bomb as I speak and risking the loss of U.S. international credibility. Instead, Republicans cite side agreements. However, they have all of the information available to any nation on all nuclear agreements, or they cite issues not under negotiation at all, like Iran's role in the Middle East. Here is what my constituents cite, Mr. Speaker: $12,000 in Federal taxes per resident--the most per capita in the United States--but no vote on the Iran deal or on anything else on this House floor. With statehood, D.C. would vote ``yes'' and be counted just as Uncle Sam counts our taxes every single year.
