Political Quotes

“I rise tonight in the House to congratulate my colleagues for joining with myself and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) in passing historic legislation which will stiffen sanctions against Russian organizations that have provided missile hardware and technology to Iran. The legislation imposes a minimum of 2 years of sanctions against Russian organizations and companies identified as having provided missile materials or technology or have tried to since January 22, 1998 when the Russian government issued a decree banning such activity. The urgency of this legislation is apparent. Thanks to critical assistance from Russian firms, Iran is making steady progress in developing medium- and long-range ballistic missiles which is not in the best interests of the United States or in world peace. Unless something happens soon, Iran may be able to produce its own medium- range missiles within less than a year. If the assistance from Russia continues, Iran soon will be able to produce long-range ballistic missiles as well. For more than a year, the Clinton administration has been in dialogue with Russia about stopping this assistance. Thanks in large part to the pressure brought to bear by the very legislation we have considered today, some progress has been achieved, at least on paper.”