Lamar Smith: “I want to thank the gentleman from California, the chairman of the committee, for yielding me time and for the excellent…”

“I want to thank the gentleman from California, the chairman of the committee, for yielding me time and for the excellent job he has been doing tonight during the debate on this particular issue. Mr. Speaker, this week is a somber week for our Nation. September the 11th reminds us of the sacred responsibility we, in Congress, have to protect the American people from those who want to kill us. That is why we must oppose the Iran deal. This deal only emboldens our enemies at the expense of our friends and our own national security. So it is no surprise that a majority in Congress oppose this deal, as do most Americans, for many reasons. First, it allows Iran to develop nuclear weapons in the future. Second, it lists sanctions and frees up as much as $150 billion in assets for Iran. These funds inevitably will be used by Iran to export terrorism as even the President himself has admitted. Third, the longstanding arms embargo against Iran will be lifted. This enables Iran to buy long-range surface-to-air missiles from Russia by the end of the year. Fourth, there is no credible way to conduct inspections of Iran's nuclear weapons-building sites. Under the proposed deal, Iran is given weeks, if not months, of advanced notice of any inspection. This provides ample time for Iran to hide evidence of nuclear weapons activities and violate the agreement. Secret deals that the administration has hidden from Congress and the American people have now been revealed.…”