Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, 2 weeks ago, the Obama administration admitted to transferring $1.3 billion in cash to Iran after delivering a $400 million cash payment on the same day that Iran released American prisoners. The Obama administration tried to walk back its actions by calling the first cash payment leverage, but the American people, frankly, know better. The cash payment to Iran was a ransom payment--I repeat, a ransom payment to Iran--plain and simple. Let's get one thing straight here: Iran is our enemy. It is not our friend. Iran is the enemy of our most important allies in the region and not their friend. Iran's leadership has publicly promised to wipe out America and to wipe out Israel--right off the map. Those are not the words of a friend. Iran imprisons American citizens and taunts our Navy every single day. That is not a friend. Iran is one of only three nations our Department of State classifies as a ``state sponsor of terrorism.'' Whether it is the Obama administration's refusal to utter the phrase ``radical Islam'' or the word ``ransom,'' it has tried time and again to deceive the American people with its policies that have ultimately made America less safe. As the increasingly popular saying goes: our friends no longer trust us, and our enemies no longer fear us. It is time for Congress to step in and block future cash payments to Iran. As an original cosponsor of this bill, I urge my colleagues to support the Prohibiting Future Payments to Iran Act. In God we trust.”