Peter Roskam: “History is incredibly instructive and helpful for us at a time like this. August 13, 1961, Nikita Khrushchev gave an…”

“History is incredibly instructive and helpful for us at a time like this. August 13, 1961, Nikita Khrushchev gave an order and that was to move forward and put up the Berlin Wall. At first, it was just barbed wire that morning. And then over a period of time, as we know, it moved from barbed wire to concrete and ultimately to the wall and really the edifice that was the symbol of an impressive regime. I think we are wise to be measured and sobered by those instructions of history. This legislation is a step toward dealing with the incrementalist vision that Ahmadinejad and the mullahs in Iran have. Now, it has been said that there are some weaknesses in the bill and the weaknesses are putting a lot of trust, frankly, in an administration that has sort of underperformed in this area. But my hope is and my expectation is that the administration will use this tool, recognize the serious threat, and recognize the type of tool that they're able to use to go after this regime. This is an important piece of legislation, and I am pleased to support it.”