Political Quotes

“I rise to express my support for legislation that the Senate is considering today that will extend the Iran Sanctions Act for 10 years before it expires in just 30 days. I will be voting for this bill later today, and I am proud to have cosponsored similar legislation earlier this year. The Iran Sanctions Act, or ISA, is an important aspect of U.S. sanctions on Iran. The ISA was enacted in 1996 to tighten sanctions on Iran in response to its growing nuclear program and support for terrorist organizations, such as Hamas and Hezbollah. The ISA provides the legislative authority for many of the sanctions on Iran that were lifted but may be reimplemented if Iran violates the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. These include sanctions on foreign investment in Iran's oil and gas fields, sales of gasoline to Iran, and transportation of Iranian crude oil. Even though these sanctions were suspended by the JCPOA, we need this legal framework to address any Iranian violations of the deal so that sanctions can be rapidly put back in place if necessary. Additionally, this framework maintains some sanctions that were not lifted under the JCPOA. The ISA still requires the United States to sanction entities that assist Iran with acquiring or developing weapons of mass destruction--that provide ``destabilizing numbers and types'' of advanced conventional weapons or participate in uranium mining ventures with Iran.…”