Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. BLUMENAUER. I thank the gentleman from Ohio for permitting me to speak on this.

I have great respect for the Chair and ranking member, and I deeply share their concern about a nuclear-armed Iran. It is something that I think we are all deeply opposed to, we're deeply concerned about, in terms of the potential instability in that delicate region and frankly around the world. But I have a deep concern that the approach that is being offered here is not calculated to reach that objective.

First and foremost, there is correspondence, a letter from the Deputy Secretary of State, Mr. Steinberg, talking about the problems of sanctions legislation on the Senate side, that talks about how we are entering a critical period of intense diplomacy to impose significant international pressure on Iran.

It is not at all clear, Mr. Speaker, that moving forward right now with new sanctions on companies of other countries that are involved with the petroleum activities is actually going to be helpful at a time when the administration is ramping up its international efforts to deal with Iran; I think efforts that we all support and feel need to be as productive as possible.

I think there is also a very real question about whether the focus of this legislation is going to have its intended use, because there is nobody in the Iranian Government, in the Revolutionary Guard, in the inner circle of either the President or the Supreme Ruler that's not going to get their gasoline. The extent to which it is successful, and that remains questionable, it's going to be impactful on the people of Iran, common people who in the main are amongst the few Middle Eastern countries where they still have a favorable view of the United States. Sanctioning those people, not the leadership is not helpful.

I found it interesting on the front page of today's Washington Post, they discuss the evidence of Iran's nuclear-armed being expedited, despite sanctions. In fact, there is evidence in this article that it is the sanctions themselves that have spurred the indigenous development of that capacity in Iran. One of them said, ``thank God for the sanctions'' against us.

We need to be very careful about the application of sanctions and how they're going to be worked. I think we have a shortsighted view for dual use technology and dealing with export controls that have actually developed other countries' capacity, including those that aren't friendly to us, along with all companies from other competitor nations around the world. I think we need to be very careful here.

Last but by no means least, Mr. Speaker, I am concerned that the United States is really the only major country in the world that doesn't have a thoughtful sanctions policy--when to impose them, how to impose them, and, most important, when to take them off. I would respectfully suggest that this is not the right time. This is an instrument that's not likely to be successful, and it may complicate our efforts against Iran. While I agree with the gentleman's objective, I don't agree with the legislation and urge its rejection.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source