Chris Smith: “I would like to begin by thanking Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel and Senators Corker, Cardin, and Menendez for…”

“I would like to begin by thanking Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel and Senators Corker, Cardin, and Menendez for doing their level best in the face of an administration which, throughout this process, has ignored and sought to exclude the legislature from its constitutional role in ratifying what is, in essence, a treaty--it is called an executive agreement, but it is a treaty--with the vicious, rights-abusing regime in Tehran, to salvage what we all can from an egregiously flawed framework and process. It is clear, from the trajectory of negotiations to date, that the administration has squandered the leverage gained through sanctions, and there has been slippage--or, rather, retreat--from the strong position staked out in a number of U.N. Security Council resolutions, including resolution 1929 agreed to in 2010. Resolution 1929 demanded that Iran: one, suspend all uranium enrichment; two, cooperate fully with the IAEA ensuring unfettered on-site inspection; and, three, refrain from any activity related to ballistic missiles. Iran is now closer to achieving access to nuclear weapons and to the missiles to carry them to targets, including cities in the United States, while being relieved of sanctions. From what we know now of the proposed framework, over 5,000 centrifuges will be allowed.…”