On January 13, 2014 Rep. Llyod Doggett of Texas asked for and was granted permission to address the United States House of Representatives regarding the subject of Iran.
“Mr. Speaker, next Monday, when our country honors an apostle of nonviolence, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Iran will begin reducing its nuclear stockpile.This important action is part of an international agreement to begin implementing the interim Joint Plan of Action that was announced in November. Hope for a nonviolent resolution of our conflict with Iran will appropriately advance on a day that honors nonviolence. Some in Congress have been unwilling to accept these negotiations or to acknowledge that the administration has been successful in uniting other countries around the world in enforcing sanctions against Iran.”
“Indeed, in what appears to have been largely a partisan outcry, some of our colleagues condemned the November agreement late on the Saturday night when it was announced, without knowing what was in it, other than that President Obama had approved it. As a Member, myself, who has consistently voted here to impose tough economic sanctions on Iran, I believe that these sanctions have worked. The choice is not between sanctions and no sanctions. It is between recognizing that our sanctions have the potential to realize our important goals and not give up on them without even really trying”, he said.
The Iranians are well aware that this Congress can act almost instantly to add even more stringent sanctions if they waver from diplomacy. Can we trust the current Iranian regime? Of course not. That is why the painstaking task of verifying every operational detail of any final agreement is so very important”, he added.
” If done with the thoroughness required, this is a task that may well take more than 6 months; but as negotiations for a permanent agreement get under way, we will have new, regular inspections to verify compliance, something we have not had in the past. To prevent a nuclear-armed Iran, and to ensure the safety of our families and families around the world, a measurable, verifiable negotiated agreement is the wiser course over the unknowable, unlimited risk of war”, said Rep. Doggett (source: Congressional Record http://thomas.loc.gov).
Congressman Doggett serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax, trade, Social Security and Medicare. Congressman Doggett is also a member of the Subcommittees on Social Security and Trade, and is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Human Resources, which has jurisdiction over issues that relate to child care, child and family services, child support, foster care, adoption, and unemployment compensation.