Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Royce for this legislation, and I offer my strongest support because, if nothing else, it reminds us of what the Iranian regime really is at its foundational core, what its essence is. With much of today's focus on the prospects of a nuclear deal with Iran and the potential military cooperation of our Nation with theirs against ISIS, we absolutely cannot and must not forget the unacceptable and appalling human rights abuses the Iranian regime commits on a daily basis. Just today, a U.N. resolution condemned Iran's numerous human rights abuses, which include an ``alarmingly high frequency'' of the use of the death penalty, the persecution and imprisonment of religious and ethnic minorities, and the suppression of multiple individual freedoms, and the list just goes on. Firsthand reports continue to emerge, describing how, of the over 800 documented executions over the past year, 80 percent were for drug offenses, and legal due process was almost never given to defendants. We don't even know if the defendants committed any offenses whatsoever. Also, disturbingly, in 2014 alone, at least eight people under the age of 18 at the time they allegedly committed their crimes were executed. Mr. Speaker, President Hassan Rouhani promised to improve the Iranian regime's human rights record. Really? Does anybody take that seriously at all? Realistically, the Iranian regime has only ramped up the oppression of its citizens.…”