On the recordJuly 25, 2017
Mr. Speaker, I rise to stress two critical aspects of this legislation. First, it would impose tough sanctions on Russia for its serious international violations, the seizure of Crimea, its violent incursion into Ukraine, its cyber interference in the 2016 U.S. election. Perhaps most importantly, in the present context, it would prevent President Trump from removing or softening existing sanctions without congressional approval. Second, the bill addresses Iran's unacceptable behavior in the non- nuclear realm, such as ballistic missile development, human rights violations, financing of terrorism, without violating the nuclear deal with Iran. The JCPOA celebrated its second anniversary 2 weeks ago. It has given the international community 24/7 access to Iran's nuclear sites, provided an enforcement mechanism to ensure that Iran's nuclear-related activity is solely peaceful, and elongated Iran's breakout time to over a year. It has made the world a safer place. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
