Rob Andrews: “There is a justifiable and broad consensus in our country and in this Congress that the regime in Iran cannot have a…”

“There is a justifiable and broad consensus in our country and in this Congress that the regime in Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. The issue is how to achieve that objective and why to achieve that objective. We cannot act in isolation to achieve the objective. We must act to isolate Iran. This has been the fruit of the persistent diplomacy engaged in by the administration, assisted very nobly by Chairman Berman and our ranking member that has brought us to a point where the world is now isolating Iran. Iran stands essentially alone in support of the proposition that its behavior has been justifiable. The sanctions that are proposed by the underlying bill will be effective because they will force the Iranian leadership to choose between the prospect of prosperity if they drop their nuclear chicanery and the certainty of economic stress if they persist in retaining it. The best evidence that these sanctions are effective is the crash program the Iranians themselves have embarked on to switch from gasoline to natural gas as a means of propelling vehicles. More important than how to do this, though, is why to do this.”