Lindsey Graham: “I take the floor today in support of the conference report that has been agreed to by the conferees regarding Iran…”

“I take the floor today in support of the conference report that has been agreed to by the conferees regarding Iran sanctions. I wish to compliment Senators Dodd, Shelby, Lugar, Kerry, Lieberman and others who were involved in negotiating this compromise. The Iranian sanctions bill will give the President tools he does not have today that will allow us as a nation to be more forceful when it comes to trying to alter Iranian behavior. I think most people in this body see the Iranian regime up to no good, that the Iranian regime has been oppressing its own people, and they present a great threat in terms of the region and the world at large. They are one of the greatest sponsors of terrorism of any nation in the world. This sanctions legislation, which is bipartisan, will allow the President more tools. It will prevent access to foreign exchange in the United States. It will prevent access to our banking system by people who do business with Iran in unhealthy ways, and it will prevent the purchase of property in the United States in case the Iranians are looking for a place to put their money. We are going to take our banks and our real estate off the table so they cannot use us to profit from their brutal behavior. It gives the ability to the President to waive these sanctions when it comes to countries that are cooperating with us.”