Political Quotes

“I thank my colleague from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meehan) for introducing this good bill. It is a compassionate bill. It is a bill that tells victims of terrorism that they are not forgotten. I chair the task force in the House Committee on Financial Services to investigate terrorism finance, and we had a hearing specifically on the joint plan of action, the so-called P5+1. That was back in July. There was an attorney who testified at the hearing about the $43 billion in judgments and how this deal, then not approved yet, was likely going to sidestep the ability of victims who did all the right things through the legal process, who hired lawyers, who went to court, who got the judgments, legitimate judgments, how these judgments would not be paid. On July 29, I wrote a letter to Secretary Lew--Secretary of the Treasury--and Secretary Kerry of the State Department asking whether or not they had addressed the issue as part of the negotiations. That was July 29. I have yet to receive a response from the Treasury Department, from the Department of State, in any way. Mr. Speaker, the deafening silence of this administration has led me to believe that they completely overlooked the victims of terrorism. What we are going to do is we are going to give the money to the Islamic Republic of Iran and not to American victims, and that is wrong. This bill is right. I urge my colleagues to support it. Mr.…”