Benjamin Gilman: “the Iran Missile Proliferation Sanctions Act of 1997 is intended to close loopholes in our counterproliferation laws in…”

“the Iran Missile Proliferation Sanctions Act of 1997 is intended to close loopholes in our counterproliferation laws in order to address a matter of critical concern to our national security, the risk that Iran may soon obtain from firms in Russia and elsewhere the capability of producing its own medium and long-range ballistic missiles. This legislation enjoys extremely strong support on both sides of the aisle. At last count, over 263 Members had asked to be listed as cosponsors, including both the Speaker, Mr. Gingrich, and the Democratic leader, Mr. Gephardt. A companion measure in the Senate has 84 cosponsors, led by the Senate majority leader, Mr. Lott, and by Mr. Lieberman of Connecticut. The urgency for this legislation is apparent from press reports. For more than a year, our Government has been in constant dialog with the Russian leadership regarding Russian assistance to the Iranian ballistic missile program. The meetings have been going on, more talks are scheduled, more summits are held, yet the Iranian military continues to make rapid progress in developing long-range missiles with critically needed assistance from Russian firms. Unless something happens soon, according to press reports, Iran is likely to achieve the ability to produce its own ballistic missiles within less than 1 year. It is now time for the Congress to say that enough is enough. We need to back up our rhetoric on nonproliferation with meaningful action.”