Howard Berman

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton), the chairman of the Armed Services Committee.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to the chairman of the Middle East and South Asia Subcommittee, who has been a wonderful partner on this legislation, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Ackerman).

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 4 minutes. The conference agreement for H.R. 2194 is by far the most comprehensive Iran sanctions legislation Congress has ever passed. This legislation greatly strengthens our Nation's overall sanctions regime regarding Iran, enhances the prospect that we will be able to dissuade Tehran from pursuing its nuclear ambitions in blatant defiance of the international community as reaffirmed once again this month in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1929. Like the House bill passed in December, the conference agreement imposes sanctions on foreign entities that sell refined petroleum to Iran or assist Iran with its domestic refining capacity. It also plugs a critical gap in our sanctions regime by imposing sanctions on foreign entities that sell Iran goods or services that help it develop its energy sector. Some believe that Iran has prepared itself for tougher energy sanctions by reducing its dependence on the import of refined petroleum. To ensure that our sanctions are as effective as possible, we added a potent new financial measure in conference that, if applied effectively by the administration, has the potential to be a game- changer. That provision sanctions foreign banks that deal with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps or other blacklisted Iranian institutions, including Iranian banks involved with WMD or terrorism. Foreign banks involved in facilitating such activities would be shut out of the U.S. financial system, and U.S. banks would not be allowed to deal with them. The conference report also requires the executive branch to pursue all credible evidence of sanctionable activity. We have been profoundly unhappy over the years that successive administrations failed to implement the 1996 Iran Sanctions Act. Our bill will also put an end to the absurd practice of the U.S. Government awarding contracts to companies engaged in sanctionable activity. In addition, the legislation imposes penalties on Iran's human rights abusers and sanctions foreign entities that provide Iran with the means to stifle freedom of expression. This portion of the bill will absolutely not terminate until Iran unconditionally releases all political prisoners, ends unlawful detention, torture, and abuse of citizens engaged in peaceful activity, and punishes the abusers. Finally, the conference agreement will help empower Iran's democratic opposition by exempting from our embargo the transfer of technologies that can help them overcome the regime's apparatus of oppression. I don't know if sanctions will work in bringing Iran's leadership to its senses. But I do know this: doing nothing certainly won't work. In light of Iran's rapid progress toward achieving a nuclear weapons capability, Tehran's repeated rejection of President Obama's diplomatic overtures, the measures in this conference agreement, if implemented effectively by the administration, are our best and, I believe, only hope for a positive and peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue. The two alternatives to strong sanctions are both horrible and horrifying--either employing the military option or, even worse, accepting the inevitability of Iran as a nuclear power. The U.S. Congress needs to do everything it can to ensure we avoid both of these miserable results. We have taken some steps in the past, but we can do far more today by voting to pass the enhanced sanctions in H.R. 2194. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the majority leader of the House, a tough taskmaster on this issue because of his passion for this legislation, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the time for debate be extended by 10 minutes, divided equally between the chair and ranking member.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to my friend from Fresno, California (Mr. Costa), a member of the committee and the conference committee and very helpful in our efforts here.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield, unfortunately only 1 minute to the author of the mandatory procurement sanctions in this legislation, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Klein).

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I was detained during rollcall vote No. 353. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Coach John Wooden. As a student of the University of California, Los Angeles during Coach Wooden's tenure, I recall with nostalgia the spirit of honor and humility that he embodied. For a man with a larger-than-life reputation and unparalleled winning record, John Wooden was surprisingly modest--a trait that many would say is particularly uncommon in Los Angeles. His playing career at the high school, college, and professional levels was marked by numerous record-breaking and award-winning performances, and his coaching career was no different. He led the UCLA Bruins to an unmatched 10 National Championships in NCAA Men's Basketball and four perfect seasons, one of which was while I was a law student at UCLA. It was an incredible time to be a Bruin. Coach Wooden was the first person to be inducted to the basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach, and remains one of only a handful of people to earn the dual honors. I can't talk about John without mentioning Nell, his wife of over 50 years. Like Coach Wooden, Nellie Wooden was until her death in 1985 an integral part of the fabric of UCLA and a fixture in the crowd at the court that now bears her and her husband's names. She always wore a smile, and a game rarely started without it. John Wooden's spirit will continue to roam the hills of Westwood by the blue Pacific shore. My colleagues and I can all take a page out of Coach Wooden's playbook when it comes to teamwork and diligence. May his memory be a blessing and his life an example to us all.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Chairman, the Eshoo amendment cuts right to the heart of our constitutional authority: Congressional oversight of matters, in this case, within the intelligence community--basic functions, financial management, acquisitions, information technology--a fundamental prerogative of this body, a prerogative that should not be limited to the intelligence committees. Bottom line, GAO plays a critical role in helping the committees examine day-to-day functions of government agencies within their jurisdiction, and its expertise needs to be brought to bear on the intelligence community. This is particularly true after the 2004 reforms that established the ODNI. There is no community that has undergone more bureaucratic overhaul and tumult, any agency within the Federal Government, than within the intelligence community. The notion that committees of appropriate jurisdiction are blocked from investigating areas within their domain for oversight purposes, having nothing to do--we clearly exempt the sources and methods issues from this oversight--makes no sense. It is an insult to the prerogatives of the Congress. And to the extent that the administration argues this should be solely within their prerogative, they don't fully understand our institutional role in Congress. I don't understand how anyone in this body who is interested in dealing with waste, with fraud, with duplication would want to limit the GAO's authority to go into appropriate areas within the intelligence community. I urge an ``aye'' vote.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I am joined by my colleagues Congressmen Xavier Becerra, Linda T. Sanchez, Loretta Sanchez, Lucille Roybal- Allard, Adam Schiff, and Henry Waxman in paying tribute to our dear friend Dolores Huerta, who is being honored by the Feminist Majority Foundation with the Eleanor Roosevelt Award. This coveted award is given annually to a select few individuals who have contributed significantly--often against great odds and at great personal risk--to advance the rights of women and girls and to increase awareness of the challenges women face on account of their gender. Dolores is a world renowned activist and is regarded as one of the most prominent Chicana labor leaders in the United States. At the age of 80, she is currently the President of the Dolores Huerta Foundation. The mission of her foundation is to build active communities in disadvantaged areas and to work towards fair and equal access to healthcare, housing, education, jobs, civic participation and economic resources with an emphasis on women and youth. Several of us have known Dolores since the early 1970's when we were members of the California State Legislature and Dolores was the Vice President and Co-Founder of the United Farm Workers of America. During the last 50 years, she has worked tirelessly on many social justice and public policy issues. We know firsthand of her outstanding contributions to our community. In 1955, when she was only 25 years old, Dolores found her calling as an organizer while serving in the leadership of the Stockton Community Service Organization (CSO), a grassroots organization that battled segregation and police brutality, led voter registration drives, pushed for improved public services, and fought to enact new legislation. Through her diligent lobbying efforts, she succeeded in removing the citizenship requirements from pension and public assistance programs. She was the leading force in the passage of legislation allowing voters the right to vote in Spanish and securing the rights of individuals to take the driver's license examination in their native language. Dolores has been arrested 22 times for participating in non-violent civil disobedience activities and strikes to protect farmers and women, which has resulted in great benefits to both groups. Largely due to her solid support for the grape boycott, the farm workers were provided with their first health and benefit plans and those who had lived, worked, and paid taxes in the United States for many years were granted amnesty. She fought tirelessly to provide a better working environment and stop the abuse of female immigrants across the U.S.-Mexican border by convincing law enforcement agencies to address the brutal rape and the murder of these immigrants. Dolores was given the Outstanding Labor Leader Award in 1984 by the California State Senate. In 1993, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. That same year she received the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Roger Baldwin Medal of Liberty Award; the Eugene V. Debs Foundation Outstanding American Award, and the Ellis Island Medal of Freedom Award. She is also the recipient of the Consumers' Union Trumpeter's Award. In 1998, she was one of three Ms. Magazine's, ``Women of the Year,'' and the Ladies Home Journal's, ``100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century.'' In addition, she has received three honorary doctorate degrees for her extraordinary career. Madam Speaker and distinguished colleagues, we ask you to join us in saluting Dolores Huerta for her impressive efforts and unyielding commitment to empowering women and improving the lives of farm workers.

Mr. BERMAN

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 2194) to amend the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 to enhance United States diplomatic efforts with respect to Iran by expanding economic sanctions against Iran, with the Senate amendment thereto, disagree to the Senate amendment, and agree to the conference asked by the Senate.

Mr. BERMAN. I yield myself 1 additional minute. Secondly, I disagree very much with the gentleman's contention that our effort to seek to change Iranian behavior and to reverse Iran's decision to pursue nuclear weapons through the imposition of strong, robust, meaningful economic sanctions, both through this legislation and, even more importantly, through tough international sanctions by the community of nations, is going to cause the Iranian people to turn against us on behalf of their regime. These are people who have risked their lives, their freedom, their liberty. They have been subject to execution, murder, imprisonment, all kinds of repression, efforts to suppress their speech and their political liberties by that regime and have taken great risks, notwithstanding the way that regime has reacted. I would suggest that those people will know more than anyone that the consequences that are befalling the people of Iran are a result of the regime's behavior, not the international community and America's efforts to change Iran's behavior.

Mr. BERMAN. I am pleased to yield 30 additional seconds to the gentleman.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have one additional speaker requesting time. I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel), chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, a hemisphere which has already seen Iranian efforts to penetrate.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews), one of the original creators of the concept of refined petroleum sanctions as a sanction. (Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in strong support of the ranking member's motion to instruct. The world faces no security threat greater than the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran. We must make certain that the prospect never becomes a reality. A nuclear Iran would menace, intimidate, and ultimately dominate its neighbors. It would be virtually impervious to any type of pressure from the West, whether regarding its support of terrorism or its crushing of freedom and human rights at home, and it would touch off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that would shred the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and almost inevitably lead to catastrophe. And worst of all, Iran might actually use its nuclear arms against those it considers its enemies. The urgency of this issue is beyond dispute. Iran quite possibly will be capable of developing and delivering a nuclear weapon in the next 3 to 5 years, and our task of preventing Iran from achieving nuclear weapons capability is made more complicated by the fact that we all know that our best weapon for fighting this battle--economic sanctions--takes time to work. So we need the strongest possible sanctions, and we need them fast. That's why I support this motion to instruct. The House bill, H.R. 2194, the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act, is a good, strong measure; and I and my fellow conferees will fight for it in conference. We will also work with the Senate on measures to help Iran's brave dissidents circumvent regime efforts to block their communications. Our colleague, the gentleman from Florida, will speak about an additional provision with respect to State decisions to disinvest that we want to include in this conference report. And I want to send this bill to the President by or before the May 28 deadline proposed in the motion to instruct. This bill, along with the Senate bill, has already done much good. In recent months, in anticipation of our sanctions becoming law, several major energy companies have ceased selling refined petroleum to Iran. Others have announced they will not make new investments in Iranian energy. They are making the sensible choice that our bill encourages, choosing the U.S. market over the Iranian market. More will make that choice when our bill becomes law. Meanwhile, our bill is goading other nations to intensify their efforts to achieve a sanctions resolution in the U.N. Security Council, and our own executive branch is getting the message that Congress is able and willing to take the grave matter of sanctions into our own hands. April 30 will mark 1 year since we first introduced this sanctions legislation. Since then, Iran has increased the number of its working centrifuges and has reached the one-bomb equivalent level in its stock of low-enriched uranium. It has enriched uranium to 20 percent, a big step on its way to mastering the process of producing weapons-grade uranium, and has installed advanced third-generation centrifuges. It has been caught red-handed building a secret reactor near Qom, which research suggests could only have been intended for bomb-making purposes, and it has announced plans to build 10 more reactors. Iran is in contempt of the international community, and I had hoped that a U.N. Security Council resolution requiring tough sanctions, followed immediately thereafter by additional muscular sanctions imposed by the European Union, would have happened by now. I know the administration is doing everything possible to bring that result about. Unfortunately, we are now nearly 4 months into 2010 with Iran on the verge of nuclear weapons capability and a U.N. Security Council resolution remains an uncertain prospect. We cannot wait any longer. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler).

Mr. BERMAN. I yield myself 1 minute. Mr. Speaker, my friend from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich) articulated his reasons for opposing this legislation. We are now, of course, voting on a motion to instruct on the legislation, but I want to just take issue with several of his points. Firstly, the reason there has not been a diplomatic resolution of the problem is that the regime in Iran has refused to engage in any meaningful and serious way in a resolution which would require them to change their behavior to end their ambition to obtain a nuclear weapons capability, and that is where the blame lies. It is not because diplomatic alternatives have been ignored. It is because they have been undertaken and rebuffed by the regime in Iran.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to a distinguished member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the gentlelady from Texas (Ms. Sheila Jackson Lee). (Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, before I yield to the majority leader, I yield myself 30 seconds. One year and 3 months ago, America was pretty isolated in its goal of trying to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. We absolutely need to move quickly because Iran is moving quickly. But there can be no doubt that the result of the events of the past 15 months have changed the dynamic fundamentally where the international community now recognizes the threat Iran's nuclear weapons pose and it is Iran who is isolated, not America. That is a direct result of the fundamental change of policy. Mr. Speaker, I am now pleased to yield 1 minute to a great advocate of this legislation and of achieving this goal, the majority leader.

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, may I get the time remaining on both sides?

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).