Bob Menendez

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, last week I had the privilege of speaking at the LATINA Style 50 Awards Ceremony and Diversity Leaders Conference, which is held each year to recognize leaders in corporate diversity. A premier and well-respected publication, LATINA Style 50 honored Deloitte LLC with its Company of the Year award, in recognition of its commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace for Latinas and professionals from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. I would like to congratulate Deloitte for receiving this honor. Deloitte has a long legacy of developing leaders and giving back to its communities. From establishing the accounting industry's first women's initiative in 1993, to operating an external advisory council, chaired by Dr. Sally Ride, that oversees its women's initiatives, Deloitte has been a leader in promoting diversity in the workplace. Deloitte also focuses its efforts externally through its support of a broad range of community groups, including several that serve Hispanics. Deloitte's CEO, Joe Echevarria, personifies the career and development opportunities available at the organization. Of Puerto Rican heritage, Mr. Echevarria began working at Deloitte as an audit recruit from the University of Miami. Today, he oversees 45,000 professionals who specialize in multiple industries, in nearly 90 U.S. cities. He understands inclusive and empowering policies aren't just good for his employees--they are good for business. It is a pleasure to congratulate Deloitte, its employees, and Deloitte CEO, Mr. Joseph Echevarria, on being named Company of the Year by LATINA Style 50, and I encourage other companies to follow the lead of Deloitte in growing and developing diverse talent in their executive suites and boardrooms.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, let me begin by recognizing the hard work and dedication of my friend from South Dakota, Chairman Johnson, and for his tireless leadership on this legislation that made this possible. Let me also recognize the ranking member, Senator Shelby, for his efforts to work in an incredibly positive, cooperative, and bipartisan manner that, in fact, created the ultimate result of a unanimous bipartisan vote, something we would love to see more of these days. It was his work, along with the chairman's, that got us to that point. I am glad to have been added to that as the subcommittee chair as well. Millions of Americans take over 10 billion transit trips a year. It has taken over 2 years of hard work, and it is part of an overall bill that creates or saves 2 million jobs, but those trips and the jobs that get created by it and the opportunity of people to get to employment, to get to a hospital, to go see family and friends are incredibly important in the context of our national economy. At a time when job creation is essential, it invests in every State to keep us competitive as a nation in the global marketplace. Under this legislation, for example, my home State of New Jersey stands to receive about $519 million in Federal transit funding without any increase in Federal spending. This bill cuts waste and eliminates earmarks so New Jersey will see benefits from a $63 million increase in transit funding, more transit funding than in any previous year. This bill invests in our infrastructure and improves public transportation without increasing the Federal budget, and it provides more funds to make the improvements they need to ease congestion and mitigate transportation delays. It is good for America because it will help communities concentrate on smart growth around transit hubs that mirror my Livable Communities Act and my State's Transit Village Program that will help make New Jersey attractive to businesses and a model job creation hub. It can do that for other communities throughout the Nation. It is good because it is energy smart and increases competitive funding for clean fuel transit vehicles to help agencies to switch from dirty, expensive fuels to cleaner, cheaper fuels. It not only streamlines the process for Federal approval of new transit projects, but it will help upgrade older systems by adding a new station or another track or a bigger train car to increase capacity rather than having to build new systems from scratch. It also includes a provision establishing a program to allow public transportation providers temporary flexibility during periods of high unemployment to use a limited portion of their Federal funds for up to 2 years, provided they meet the established criteria for operating expenses. One last but perhaps most important thing the bill accomplishes is to provide for a strong Federal role in transit safety oversight by establishing a national public transportation safety plan to improve the safety of all public transportation systems that receive Federal funding. Under this legislation, the Secretary will develop minimum performance standards for vehicles used in public transportation and establish a training program for Federal and State employees who conduct safety audits of public transportation systems. Fundamentally, this bill improves the effectiveness of State safety oversight agencies, increases Federal funding for safety, and provides new enforcement authority over public transportation safety to the Secretary of Transportation. At the end of the day, making our transit system as safe as humanly possible in every State, from coast to coast, must be a national priority. So let me conclude by saying, once again, thanks to Senators Johnson and Shelby for their leadership over the last 2 years. I think the bill is a victory for every American community. It is a commonsense investment that will create jobs, keep this Nation competitive, and make our communities more productive, accessible, and livable. It is a victory for those who believe we can create jobs, get people back to work, and keep us on the cutting edge of the global economy. So now we need to make sure we continue to reach across the aisle, as the chairman and the ranking member and I have done during this process, and get this investment in America's future to the President's desk and signed into law as soon as possible. With that, I yield the floor.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I was unavoidably detained for the rollcall vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 2038, the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge, STOCK, Act. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on the motion to invoke cloture. I cosponsored the STOCK Act on December 14, 2011.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, Mari Carmen Aponte is an excellently qualified Latina who is being politically discriminated against despite a record of accomplishment for the United States in El Salvador, which is universally recognized as extraordinary, from getting Salvadoran troops to fight alongside us--the only Latin American country to do so--to creating a new monitoring center to fight transnational crime. To suggest that the FBI and diplomatic security would give her not one but two top secret clearances that were not merited is the ultimate insult to those agencies. It is simply wrong to use alleged nameless, faceless accusers to falsely impugn her reputation. I urge my colleagues to allow an up-or-down vote on her nomination and to vote for cloture so we can get to that vote to let this qualified Latina continue to work on behalf of the United States and El Salvador as she has successfully done.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Thank you very much. Let me first thank Chairman Johnson for his leadership in this regard and in so many other major issues before the Banking Committee. He has really exercised a lot of our oversight obligations in making sure we implement Wall Street reform in a way that protects all of us as taxpayers in the country but creates a system that can still let us economically flourish, and this is one of those. For too long too many in Washington protected Wall Street from commonsense regulations and let consumers fend for themselves. For too long Republican economic policy, when it should have protected the 99 percent of American consumers from the reckless financial games that led us to the brink of economic disaster in 2008, protected the 1 percent on Wall Street instead. Banks played Russian roulette with the future and economic security of middle-class families, and no one--no one--was watching. Backed up by too-big-to-fail government guarantees, they wreaked havoc on our economy and on the jobs and retirement savings of families who played by the rules. We have lived through the unfortunate results of lax oversight, and now it is time to work together to correct it. It is time to stop the political games and govern. It is time to act. It is time to work together to make sure middle-class families get the protection they deserve and the watchdog they need. This is really about whose side a person is on. Cordray and consumer protection are being blocked simply because Republicans want to protect Wall Street. Wall Street already has a legion of lobbyists protecting its interests. We need someone who can protect Main Street's interests, and that is what Richard Cordray would do as the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Richard Cordray is an unquestionably well-qualified nominee, and no one is disputing that fact--no one. I have not heard anyone dispute his qualifications for the job. We know the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would be off to a good start with Richard Cordray at the helm, despite efforts by special interests to derail the process. It will be a strong but fair agency under Richard Cordray--to protect financial consumers who are tired of being tricked by the fine print, the ``gotcha'' paragraphs that no one but a bank lawyer would understand. Despite hysterical claims from Wall Street, the Bureau actually won widespread praise from both consumers and the industry for its first major initiative when it created a new and greatly simplified Know Before You Owe mortgage loan disclosure form so that consumers understand what kind of mortgage they are getting into before they take it. Had we had that type of language early on, maybe we wouldn't have had part of the crisis in which consumers were led to bad mortgage products--products that ultimately had skyrocketing interest rates-- when they qualified for a conventional mortgage. Maybe we wouldn't be in the great predicament we have been in since 2008. Under Wall Street reform, Richard Cordray will be there to prevent those families from being ripped off again. Fixing our broken system was not easy, and it is still not over. We are still fighting to keep the ground we have gained against special interests. The longer this nomination is delayed, the more consumers will suffer. Without a Director, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau cannot carry out some of its most vital functions, including regulating payday lenders, pawn shops, private student loan companies, those that make unscrupulous and predatory loans on our military families--we heard Senator Reed, who has great experience in this, talk about that-- giving them an unfair advantage at the same time as they do that over community banks and credit unions that are regulated, that are good and that play by the rules. Now is a time to work together to make that happen. I ask that my colleagues stop playing games. Let us go to a final up-or-down vote on Mr. Cordray. Republicans have continued to couple Mr. Cordray's nomination to weakening the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is unprecedented. Never in Senate history has a nominee been opposed in the Senate because of opposition to the whole agency for which he or she has been nominated. I say to my Republican colleagues, let's stop playing games with the protections American consumers need. Work with us to do the job we were elected to do and confirm this nominee. Work with us to protect consumers. We have come a long way toward a middle ground in creating this agency with checks and balances to begin with. The time has come for Republicans to join us in governing. I yield the floor.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I understand I have 5 minutes.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. I would be happy to do so. I know we have a vote in 5 minutes, and I want the distinguished Senator from Illinois to have an opportunity to speak.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I know we want to hear from our colleague shortly. I wish to join in recognizing over a quarter of a century of distinguished service from the senior Senator from New Jersey on this 9,000th vote, which is only emblematic of the type of work he has done, which is with a view toward not the next election but the next generation, whether it is saving lives by raising the drinking age; whether it is allowing workers to understand and have the right to know the toxic chemicals they were working with and the community in which those toxic chemicals were located; whether it is making sure all of us don't have to breathe secondhand smoke on an airplane; whether it is making sure that those who pilfer the land and contaminated it were held responsible to clean it up in the Superfund or to have cleaner air to breathe, Frank Lautenberg's legislation has touched millions of lives not only in New Jersey but across the Nation, and we salute him for his tremendous service.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, the Menendez-Kirk bipartisan amendment is sponsored by over half of the Members of the Senate. It makes it very clear that the Treasury Department's own determination under the PATRIOT Act that the Iranian Central Bank is the central source for money for Iran's nuclear march toward a nuclear weapon needs to be addressed. That is exactly what we do in this amendment. It creates the maximum effort against the Iranians, and it ensures that we do not have any oil disruption as a result of those sanctions by giving the President the opportunity to make a determination that there are sufficient oil supplies so as not to create a disruption, and it gives him in addition a national security waiver. This is the maximum opportunity to have a peaceful diplomacy tool to stop Iran's march to nuclear weapons. I urge my colleagues to give it a strong bipartisan vote.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. MENENDEZ. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay upon the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 1456

Mr. MENENDEZ. The answer is, yes, there is a national security waiver, and, no, we do not believe the world's financial system will be destroyed. The fact is, as my distinguished colleague from Illinois has said, it is a choice between a $300 billion economy in Iran and a $14 trillion economy in the United States. I think that choice would be very clear for countries as they choose to do so, and the Europeans are already on a march on their own because they understand the risk to them. I yield the floor, and I hope to hear from my colleague from Illinois.

Mr. MENENDEZ. I would be happy to yield.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I rise to urge my colleagues to pass amendment No. 1414 that I have offered with my distinguished colleague from Illinois, Senator Kirk, to strengthen sanctions against Iran that go to the heart of the regime's ability to finance its nuclear ambitions. This is a broad-based effort, a bipartisan effort, and one that needs the Senate's attention and passage. In my view, we have to follow the money, and this amendment does exactly that. If we are serious about limiting Iran's ability to finance its nuclear ambitions, this amendment is essential to that effort. It is a serious attempt to sanction the Central Bank of Iran, which is known to be complicit in Iran's nuclear efforts. If we fail to close loopholes and sanction funding mechanisms for Iran's nuclear development programs, we would be like a rancher who left the barn open and wonders why the horses are gone. To not pass this amendment is leaving the door open to Iran's runaway nuclear ambitions. We cannot and we must not let that happen. I know the administration has expressed their concerns about this amendment--an amendment which, by the way, has come about as a result of the administration asking us to work with them, and a bipartisan effort has achieved a narrower, more defined, tailored effort to bring the maximum sanctions upon Iran with the minimum consequence to both the United States and our allies across the globe. But in the absence of congressional action over the last 15 years, starting with the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act and ending with CISADA, I have to wonder what we would be doing to stop Iran's drive to obtain nuclear weapons, if it were not for the Congress's intercession and actions. I recognize this administration has done more than any prior administration in terms of using those tools the Congress has given them, but in my view, we have not done enough. In a letter from Secretary Geithner today, the administration recognizes that ``Iran's greatest economic resource is its export of oil. Sales of crude oil line the regime's pockets, sustain its human rights abuses, and feed its nuclear ambitions like no other sector of the Iranian economy.'' That is what Secretary Geithner had to say in his letter. That is pretty compelling as to why this amendment needs to pass, that is why I have worked with Senator Kirk to pass this important amendment, and that is why we urge our colleagues to pass it. To those who have raised concerns about the impact of the amendment on our allies and our multilateral diplomacy efforts, I would note that the European nations and the French in particular are already considering their own Iranian oil embargo. This is not, by the way, an oil embargo, but they are considering something far more significant-- their own Iranian oil embargo. They recognize that the Iranian nuclear program has a short fuse. Published reports say it may be as short as 1 year, and the time to act is now. They recognize that the Shahab missile would not only be capable of hitting the State of Israel but could easily hit a European nation--a European nation which obviously would be a NATO ally. As for other countries, frankly, I am not concerned with how the Chinese feel about our amendment given that they are currently one of greatest violators of our current sanctions regime already. The evidence is clear. I have been made aware that several major energy traders continue to make prohibited sales of refined petroleum to Iran. Yet our response has been to sanction the front companies rather than the major figures behind these sales. China also continues to be a major Iranian trading partner and has agreements with Iran for nearly $40 billion in investments to develop Iranian oil fields. China has reportedly directed the China National Offshore Oil Corporation and National Petroleum Corporation to slow their work in Iran, presumably to allow them to make the argument to Washington to hold off on sanctions. We must ask, why has the administration been reluctant to sanction Chinese companies when there is ample evidence that they are violating our own existing laws and there is precedent for us sanctioning Chinese companies for nuclear and weapons proliferation outcomes?

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. MENENDEZ. The November 8 IAEA report underscores the need for this amendment. It undeniably confirms that there is a military component to Iran's nuclear program; that Iran has not suspended its Iranian enrichment and conversion activities at declared facilities and is seeking to develop as many as 10 new enrichment facilities; that there are undisclosed nuclear facilities in Iran; that Iran is seeking back channels to acquire dual-use technology and materials; that Iran is experimenting and testing detonators and initiation systems critical to creating a nuclear weapon; and that Iran may be working on an indigenous design for a nuclear weapon, including a nuclear payload small enough to fit on Iran's long-range Shahab missile, a missile capable of reaching Israel. These public revelations have led to an increase in multilateral sanctions on the Iranian regime, which I applaud, but given what appears to be a shortening timeline until Iran has a potential nuclear weapon, it would seem we are not doing enough fast enough. Iran has adapted to CISADA and has negotiated workarounds to constraints on its financial transactions and its ability to acquire requisite materials to advance its clandestine program. This amendment will prevent those workarounds. It will impose sanctions on those international financial institutions that engage in business activities with the Central Bank of Iran--particularly in the pursuit of petroleum products--with the exception of transactions that include medicine and medical devices. It is a timely amendment that follows the administration's decision last week designating the entire Iranian banking sector as a primary money laundering concern and a threat to government and financial institutions, noting Iran's illicit activities, including its pursuit of nuclear weapons, its support of terrorism, and its efforts to deceive responsible financial institutions and evade sanctions. In fact, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the Department of the Treasury wrote: The Central Bank of Iran, which regulates Iranian banks, has assisted designated Iranian banks by transferring billions of dollars to those banks in 2011. In making these transfers, the CBI attempted to evade sanctions by minimizing the direct involvement of large international banks with both CBI and designated Iranian banks. The Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, David Cohen, wrote: Treasury is calling out the entire Iranian banking sector, including the Central Bank of Iran, as posing terrorist financing, proliferation financing, and money laundering risks for the global financial system. I don't know how much more compelling even the administration's own arguments are. As I have said on this floor, Iran's conduct threatens the national security of the United States and its allies. The complicit action of the Central Bank of Iran, based on its facilitation of the activities of the government, its evasion of multilateral sanctions directed against the Government of Iran, its engagement in deceptive financial practices and illicit transactions, and, most important, its provision of financial services in support of Iran's effort to acquire the knowledge, materials, and facilities to enrich uranium and to ultimately develop weapons of mass destruction, threatens regional peace and global security. This amendment will starve the beast. It requires the President to prohibit transactions of Iranian financial institutions that touch U.S. financial institutions. To ensure that we don't spook the oil markets, transactions with Iran's Central Bank in petroleum and petroleum products would only be sanctioned if the President makes a determination that petroleum-producing countries other than Iran can provide sufficient alternative resources for the countries purchasing from Iran and that the country declines to make significant decreases in the purchases of Iranian oil. This bipartisan amendment has been carefully crafted to ensure the maximum impact on Iran's financial infrastructure and ability to finance terrorist activities and to minimize the impact on global economy. It has the best chance of helping us achieve a peaceful solution to this threat. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. MENENDEZ. I believe the Senator is right.

Mr. MENENDEZ. The Senator, in my view, is right, considering that they both have veto power at the Security Council. It seems to me that they are not likely allies in helping us pursue this course.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I come to the floor to speak to a bipartisan amendment my colleague from Illinois, Senator Kirk, and I have offered. We believe it is one of the most critical issues facing our country in terms of national defense and global security. We have come together to the floor to speak about it. One of the greatest threats--if not the greatest--to the security of our Nation and Israel is the concerted effort by the Government of Iran to acquire the technology and materials to create a nuclear weapon that will do two things: First, we can be sure it will alter the balance of power in the Middle East. Second, altering the balance of power with a nuclear Iran dedicated to the destruction of the State of Israel would most certainly lead to hostilities--hostilities that could spill over to engulf the entire region and well beyond. We cannot, we must not, and we will not let that happen. But the clock is ticking. Published reports suggest we may be just a year away from Iran having a nuclear weapon and the ability to deliver that nuclear weapon to a target. To forestall this scenario and, more importantly, to prevent it from happening in the first place, we must use all of the tools of peaceful diplomacy available to us. Simply put, we must do everything in our power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. I do not believe there is anyone on either side of the aisle who disagrees with that proposition. We come to the floor today to discuss a bipartisan amendment I have offered with my friend from Illinois, Senator Kirk, to limit Iran's ability to finance its nuclear ambitions by sanctioning the Central Bank of Iran, which has proven to be complicit in Iran's nuclear efforts. This amendment will impose sanctions on those international financial institutions that engage in business activities with the Central Bank of Iran. This is a timely amendment that follows the administration's own decision last week designating Iran as a jurisdiction of primary money laundering. In fact, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the Department of the Treasury wrote: The Central Bank of Iran, which regulates Iranian banks, has assisted designated Iranian banks by transferring billions of dollars to these banks in 2011. In making these transfers, the Central Bank of Iran attempted to evade sanctions by minimizing the direct involvement of large international banks with both the Central Bank of Iran and designated Iranian banks. The Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, David Cohen, has written this: Treasury is calling out the entire Iranian banking sector, including the Central Bank of Iran, as posing terrorist financing, proliferation financing, and money laundering risks for the global financial system. The administration's own decisions clearly show that Iran's conduct threatens the national security of the United States and its allies, and the complicit action of the Central Bank of Iran, based on its facilitation of the activities of the government, its evasion of multilateral sanctions directed against the Government of Iran, its engagement in deceptive financial practices and illicit transactions, and, most importantly, its provision of financial services in support of Iran's effort to acquire the knowledge, materials, and facilities to enrich uranium and to ultimately develop weapons of mass destruction, threatens regional peace and global security. We recently learned just how far down the nuclear road Iran has come. The International Atomic Energy Agency's report indicates what all of us already suspected--Iran continues to enrich uranium and is seeking to develop as many as 10 new enrichment facilities; that Iran has conducted high-explosives testing and detonator development to set off a nuclear charge, as well as computer modeling of the core of a nuclear warhead; that Iran has engaged in preparatory work for a nuclear weapons test; that an August IAEA inspection revealed that 43.5 pounds of a component used to arm nuclear warheads was unaccounted for in Iran; and that Iran is working on an indigenous design for a nuclear payload small enough to fit on Iran's long-range Shahab-3 missile, a missile capable of reaching the State of Israel. What more do we need to know before we take the next diplomatic step to address the financial mechanism that is helping make Iran's nuclear ambitions a reality? These revelations, combined with Iran's provocative effort in October to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to the United States, demonstrate that Iran's aggression has taken a violent turn and that we have every reason to believe that if Iran gets a nuclear weapon, it may very well use it, and use it against our ally, the State of Israel. This amendment will impose sanctions on any foreign financial institution that engages in significant transactions with the Central Bank of Iran, with the exception of transactions in food, medicine, and medical devices. It recognizes the administration's actions last week pursuant to section 311 of the PATRIOT Act designating the entire Iranian banking sector as a primary money laundering concern. It requires the President to prohibit transactions of Iranian financial institutions that touch U.S. financial institutions. To ensure that we don't spook the oil market, transactions with Iran's Central Bank in petroleum and petroleum products would only be sanctioned if the President makes a determination that petroleum- producing countries other than Iran can provide sufficient alternative resources for the countries purchasing from Iran and if the country declines to make significant decreases in its purchases of Iranian oil. This bipartisan amendment has been carefully drafted to ensure the maximum impact on Iran's financial infrastructure and its ability to finance terrorist activities and to minimize the impact on the global economy. Iran has a history of exploiting terrorism against coalition forces in Iraq, in Argentina, Lebanon, and even, in their attempt to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador, in Washington. While Iran's drive to advance its nuclear weapons program has been slowed by U.S. and international sanctions, it clearly remains undeterred. Today, we take--hopefully today or tomorrow when we vote on this amendment--the next step in isolating Iran politically and financially. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on the other side and with the administration to achieve this goal and to also advance the legislation I introduced earlier this year with many others on both sides of the aisle--the Iran, North Korea, and Syrian Sanctions Consolidation Act, which has 80 bipartisan cosponsors at this point. Our efforts to date have been transformative. But just as Iran has been prepared to adjust to the sanctions and unanticipated loopholes, just as it has been prepared to take advantage of every loophole to circumvent the sanctions and keep moving forward in its effort to achieve a robust nuclear program, we must be equally prepared to adjust and adapt by closing each loophole and stopping the regime's nuclear efforts. By identifying the Central Bank of Iran as the Iranian regime's partner and the financier of its terrorist agenda, we can begin to starve the regime of the money it needs to achieve its nuclear goals. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan amendment that will go a long way toward closing financial loopholes and helping prevent the Iranian regime from moving its nuclear ambitions to the weapons phase and closer to the warhead of a missile. We cannot, we must not, and we will not allow Iran to threaten the stability of the region and the peace and security of the world. I appreciate the support of my distinguished colleague from Illinois who is on the floor, who has worked with us in this regard and come to a common view and effort to maximize the effect on Iran and minimize the effect to both us and the global economy, and certainly urge passage of this amendment.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, on rollcall vote 210, I voted ``nay.'' It was my intention to vote ``yea.'' Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that I be permitted to change my vote since it will not affect the outcome.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, one of the greatest--if not the greatest threats to the security of our Nation and our ally Israel--is the concerted effort by the Government of Iran to acquire the technology and materials to create a nuclear weapon that will alter the balance of power in the Middle East, and which would most certainly lead to hostilities. To forestall or ideally prevent this scenario, we must use ALL of the tools of peaceful diplomacy available to us. Simply put, we must do everything in our power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. I am pleased to offer an amendment that will limit Iran's ability to finance its nuclear ambitions by sanctioning the Central Bank of Iran, which is complicit in Iran's efforts. This amendment will require the President to make a determination about whether the Central Bank of Iran's conduct threatens the national security of the United States or its allies based on its facilitation of the activities of the Government of Iran that threaten global or regional peace and security, its evasion of multilateral sanctions directed against the Government of Iran; its engagement in deceptive financial practices and illicit transactions, and most importantly its provision of financial services in support of Iran's effort to acquire the knowledge, materials, and facilities to enrich uranium and to ultimately develop weapons of mass destruction. Last week we learned just how far down the nuclear road Iran has come. The International Atomic Energy Agency's report indicates that Iran continues to enrich uranium and is seeking to develop as many as 10 new enrichment facilities; has conducted high explosives testing and detonator development to set off a nuclear charge, as well as computer modeling of a core of a nuclear warhead; and has engaged in preparatory work for a nuclear weapons test. We also learned that an August IAEA inspection revealed that 43.5 pounds of a component--used to arm nuclear warheads--was unaccounted for in Iran and that Iran is working on an indigenous design for a nuclear payload small enough to fit on Iran's long-range Shahab-3 missile, a missile capable to reaching Israel. These revelations--combined with Iran's provocative effort in October to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to the United States--demonstrate that Iran's aggression has taken a violent turn and that we can expect that if it gets a nuclear weapon that it will use that weapon. This amendment will impose sanctions on any foreign financial institutions that engage in significant transactions with the Central Bank of Iran, with the exception of transactions in food, medicine, and medical devices. It sends the message that you have a choice--to do business with the United States or to do business with Iran. Iran has a history of exporting terrorism--against coalition forces in Iraq, in Argentina, Lebanon, and even in Washington; and while Iran's drive to advance its nuclear weapons program has been slowed by U.S. and international sanctions, it remains undeterred. Today, we take the next step to isolate Iran politically and financially. I also look forward to continuing to work with the administration and with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to achieve our shared goals and to make this a bipartisan initiative. Our efforts to date have been transformative, but Iran has adapted to the sanctions, unanticipated loopholes have allowed the regime to adjust and circumvent the sanctions and drive forward its effort to achieve a robust nuclear program. We have to be just as prepared to adjust and adapt by closing each loophole that arises. By identifying the Central Bank of Iran as the Iranian regime's partner and financier of its terrorist agenda we can begin to starve the regime of the money it needs to achieve its nuclear goals. Amendment No. 1114

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. I move to lay that motion upon the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.