Matthew Russell: “I thank the chairman for his leadership on this bill. There have been a lot of accusations about what is in this bill…”

“I thank the chairman for his leadership on this bill. There have been a lot of accusations about what is in this bill and the content. The fact of the matter is, what is being quoted is simply not in the bill. It says that it would deprive the President of the authority to make decisions. That is simply not the case. Page 2, line 20; page 5, line 17; page 7, line 7: ``The President may lift''--spelled out--if he meets the certification criteria. What is that criteria? That they are no longer conducting activity and they have justification for that relief. Where this language ``never at any time'' is being quoted, Mr. Speaker, by my esteemed and caring colleagues on this issue--I know how they feel about this issue personally, and I commend them for it because we are on common ground here--but they are quoting something that is simply not in the bill. When they say ``never at any time,'' that is simply not there. The President may lift the sanctions. What we are calling for is a certification as to why. If he comes in and makes the case--look, this bank has corrected its behavior, general Soleimani has had some epiphany and he is no longer a terrorist--then, fine, we can have that certification, and the President does that. Talking about several of them and that there was no bipartisan effort, every single speaker that has said that there was not a bipartisan effort I have personally been in contact with--personally-- talking on this particular issue.…”