Dear Friends,
You’ve heard me talk for weeks now about the dangerous consequences of President Obama’s nuclear agreement with Iran. Last month, the House of Representatives voted with my support to strike down a resolution of approval that would have given the House’s consent for the agreement to move forward, but we didn’t end there. My colleagues and I continue to use every tool at our disposal to stop, slow, and delay this ill-conceived deal.
As you may know, this agreement allows President Obama to unfreeze up to $150 billion in sanctions against the Iranian regime – making for a massive payday that Iran will funnel towards Hezbollah and other terrorist proxy groups. Here’s what you may not know: Iran is delinquent on more than $43 billion in payments to victims of its state sponsored terrorism. This video explains.
Over the years, courts have issued judgments directing Iran to pay compensation for the victims of its heinous crimes and Iran has simply refused to pay up. Appallingly, nowhere in this deal does President Obama stipulate that Iran must pay what it owes before being able to benefit from sanctions relief. To that end, the House of Representatives acted this week by passing H.R. 3457, the Justice for Victims of Iranian Terrorism Act. This bill would prohibit the removal of any sanctions until Iran erases its debt to its victims.
Passing this commonsense bill is the very least we can do for those who have suffered at the hands of the Iranian regime and the terrorists they align with. I’m pleased that the legislation received bipartisan support despite a callous veto threat from President Obama. Now, we must demand quick action in the Senate so that we can put this legislation on President Obama’s desk and force him to answer this basic question: Why should Iranian hardliners get a massive payday while its victims still wait for the money they are rightfully owed?
