Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, it may surprise some to learn that the penalties in the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 have never been imposed on a single individual or a company. Only once has a company even been found to be in violation of its provisions, but sanctions were immediately waived by the Clinton administration due to the protests by the Russian, French, and Malaysian Governments, which did not want their companies penalized for doing business with Iran. It should be noted that the same companies--Russia's Gazprom, France's Total, and Malaysia's Petronas--are still providing the Iranian regime a vital economic lifeline through energy-related investments. I and other members of the conference committee had hoped that this bill before us would avoid repeating past mistakes--that is, avoid undermining its effectiveness by giving the President an option of doing nothing. This was not to be. The result is that the President is authorized to waive not only the imposition of sanctions for refined petroleum transactions, investments in Iran's energy sector, and aid to Iran's programs on weapons of mass destruction, missile, and advanced conventional weapons, but even on basic investigations and determinations of some sanctionable activities.…”