Chris Smith: “I thank the distinguished chairman for yielding. I rise in strong support of H.R. 757, the North Korea Sanctions…”

“I thank the distinguished chairman for yielding. I rise in strong support of H.R. 757, the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2016. Mr. Speaker, there is a compelling need to pass tough and effective legislation to freeze the assets of the Kim Jong-un regime. I want to commend Chairman Royce for his long and hard work on North Korea and his determination to bring this bill to the floor. I again thank Ranking Member Eliot Engel for his good, strong sense of bipartisanship. This is a one-two punch against a cruel dictatorship, and this legislation has to get to the President as soon as possible. Mr. Speaker, whether it be North Korea or Iran, when will we learn the hard lesson that totalitarian states do not negotiate in good faith, cannot be trusted to hold up their end of the bargain, and use our goodwill and our foreign capital to keep on proliferating? They will not allow intrusive inspections because they cheat and because it weakens their status at home. They use nuclear weapons negotiations to enhance their own diplomatic status and to gain concessions. In the end, nuclear negotiations earn rogue nations like Iran and North Korea foreign capital and other investments from the West. They use that to fund additional missile technology, to fund criminal and terrorist activities, and to continue with clandestine nuclear programs.…”