WILMINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) released the following statement after the shootings in Dallas.
“Today is a day to hug our kids tighter and to offer up our prayers and thanks for those who keep us safe. Our police officers and first responders serve in roles in which before every shift they hug their spouses and kids, knowing their job involves real risks. This morning, for five families in Dallas, that knowledge became a tragic reality.
“We have seen far too many tragic deaths this week, and we mourn all of the lives taken too soon. Every day, but especially on days like this, all Americans must come together peacefully to begin to heal our wounds and build towards a community of respect and compassion.”
WASHINGTON – Following passage of the Global Food Security Act in the House of Representatives yesterday, U.S. Senators Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, highlighted further progress in their bipartisan effort to ensure U.S. food assistance is being used as effectively as possible. The Global Food Security Act, which passed the Senate in April, contains a first-time authorization for the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Emergency Food Security Program (EFSP). USAID has relied increasingly upon EFSP to avoid constraints that would prevent delivery of emergency food aid through the Food for Peace program.
“House passage of the Global Food Security Act moves this bill to the President’s desk for signature. I want to thank Senators Casey, Isakson, Cardin, and Corker for their work in putting the Obama Administration’s global hunger and food security initiative into law,” said Senator Coons. “This bill also sends an important signal about the need to increase flexibility in how we deliver food aid, and I look forward to seeing the President sign this bill into law without delay. The passage of this act into law will ensure that the United States remains a leader in improving food security and promoting long-term nutrition for communities in developing countries.”
“The House joined the Senate in making important progress toward eliminating inefficiencies in food aid, feeding millions more hungry people, more quickly, for the same cost,” said Senator Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “Flexibility in emergency food aid is critical for ensuring we are able to respond in emergency situations like Syria, where U.S. commodities simply cannot reach. The Emergency Food Security Program is also the model for overall food aid reform, moving the United States toward a system that guarantees U.S. farmers’ involvement in the program while allowing for greater flexibility to reach people in need without wasting millions in unnecessary overhead. I am hopeful that with this bill now going to the president’s desk, we will continue building momentum behind that effort.”
In 2015, nearly half of the $2.1 billion in annual U.S. food aid came from the EFSP. Other non-emergency food assistance is encumbered by various restrictions, including U.S. commodity and cargo preferences, that make emergency food aid too slow, too expensive, or locally inappropriate. The Food for Peace Reform Act of 2015, coauthored by Corker and Coons, would eliminate these restraints tofree up as much as $440 million annually and allow the U.S. to reach an estimated eight to twelve million more people with food in a shorter time period.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), senior Democrat on the Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts Judiciary Subcommittee, authored an oped on Huffington Post today to refute a hearing convened Tuesday by subcommittee Chairman Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas). The hearing was titled, “Willful Blindness: Consequences of Agency Efforts to Deemphasize Radical Islam in Combating Terrorism,” yet failed to consider any real solutions for fighting terrorism.
Video and audio of Senator Coons’ opening remarks available here: http://bit.ly/29aNrgm
Video and audio of Senator Coons’ closing remarks available here: http://bit.ly/29aPXmV
We can keep America safe without sacrificing our core values
By Chris Coons
Earlier this week, Senator Ted Cruz chaired a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing titled “Willful Blindness: Consequences of Agency Efforts to Deemphasize Radical Islam in Combatting Terrorism.” As the senior Democrat on the subcommittee, I used the hearing to push back on this misleading rhetoric, much of which was willfully reckless.
Several witnesses suggested that if only our President and his administration would use the words “radical Islam,” we would be a safer nation. This theory is not only false – it is dangerous.
Here are the facts. We are not at war with Islam. We are at war with ISIS. Rhetoric that confuses this issue plays into the hands of ISIS, which itself accuses the United States and our allies of being at war with Islam. ISIS is not Islamic. It is a death cult that has killed more Muslims than Christians. When a deranged murderer invokes Islam, it is a hollow attempt to justify his rampage by cloaking it in religion.
This hearing was also troubling because it presented the American people with a false choice: we can either keep America safe or preserve our fundamental values. I reject this premise.
We can and must defeat terrorism without sacrificing our constitutional principles of openness, tolerance, and freedom. To compromise these principles, and to blame over a billion Muslims for the twisted actions of an extremist few, only serves to divide Americans, alienate the Muslim world, and legitimize the murderous groups who falsely claim to speak for Islam.
This makes us less safe.
Some prominent Republicans have offered a number of dangerous proposals. One calls on the U.S. to “patrol and secure” so-called “Muslim neighborhoods;” another would simply ban all Muslims from entering the United States. But we can’t fight radicalization with radical proposals.
Whether you call it “radical Islamism” or “Islamic extremism,” spending hours debating semantics doesn’t get us any closer to developing new ways to combat terror and defeat ISIS.
Instead of quibbling about a few words, we should be discussing a strategy to defeat ISIS. Here’s what I propose:
First, around the world and throughout cyberspace, we must intensify our military and online campaigns against ISIS. We should do everything we can to support our allies by strengthening intelligence sharing and improving security screening and border management.
We must also build upon the progress made so far by the American-led anti-ISIS coalition. Together, the 66-nation coalition assembled by President Obama and his administration has retaken nearly half of the territory ISIS held in Iraq, and more than 20 percent of its territory in Syria. The U.S. alone has carried out more than 13,200 airstrikes and killed more than 25,000 ISIS fighters and more than 120 ISIS leaders. While we have more work to do, the success and cohesion of this coalition so far shows we’re making progress.
Second, here at home, we have to harden our domestic defenses, strengthen our border security, and work to prevent the radicalization of any potential homegrown terrorists. Congress should help equip state and local law enforcement with the tools required to reduce the threat of terrorism. That includes empowering law enforcement to stop known and suspected terrorists from acquiring dangerous weapons.
But these tasks, while critical, aren’t sufficient by themselves.
Our success fighting terrorism depends in large part on making clear to the 1.7 billion Muslims around the world – including millions who are proud citizens of this country – that the United States supports their right to worship and live their faith freely, openly, and peacefully. Faithful Muslims around the world have denounced ISIS as the terror group that it is, and disclaimed its deviant interpretation of their religion.
Defeating terrorism means undertaking consistent, genuine outreach to the American Muslim community to promote full integration into civic and political life. Only then will we be able to achieve our shared goals of defeating the scourge of terrorism.
Keeping our country safe and upholding our fundamental values are not mutually exclusive. We can, and must, do both.
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), the first Delaware Senator in more than four decades to serve on the critical Appropriations Committee, joined his colleagues on the Committee to approve the annual State, Foreign Operations and Related Agencies (SFOPS) appropriations bill. This bill passed out of the Appropriations Committee and is now ready for consideration by the full Senate.
“I’m pleased the committee came together in a bipartisan way to approve funding for so many critical programs that strengthen global security, U.S. diplomacy, and humanitarian response efforts around the world,” said Senator Coons, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “I’m especially pleased this bill includes $3.4 billion in military assistance to help Israel meet rising security threats in the Middle East. I am confident the letter that Senator Graham and I led with signatures of 83 total Senators helped boost security funding for our unshakeable alliance with Israel. I’m also thrilled the committee provided an additional $5 million for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the world’s nuclear watchdog, which is tasked with overseeing Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal, maintaining a nuclear safeguards program in North Korea, and promoting nonproliferation around the world. This bill also provides funding to address the growing global crisis of wildlife trafficking that poses a serious threat to our environment and national security.”
“I look forward to working with Senator Graham to provide assistance to stabilize war-torn regions in the Middle East and Africa, particularly for refugees and Internally Displaced Persons.”
A list of Senator Coons’ priorities that were included in the annual spending bill are below:
Increased Support for Israel Senator Coons helped secure $3.4 billion in military assistance for Israel, a $300 million increase from past years. This amount will help Israel preserve its Qualitative Military Edge and provide it with the resources required to meet the challenges posed by rising regional instability and threats such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. Senator Coons recently joined Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to lead a letter to President Obama calling for the finalization of a new and enhanced Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for security assistance to Israel.
Support for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Senator Coons helped secure $94.8 million in voluntary funding—a $5 million increase above the level requested by the President—for the IAEA, the world’s nuclear watchdog, which is tasked with overseeing Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal, maintaining a nuclear safeguards program in North Korea, and promoting nonproliferation around the world. In recent months, Senator Coons has sought to highlight the need to increase funding for the IAEA. He recently travelled to the IAEA’s headquarters in Vienna, where he met with agency leaders about the need for reliable, long-term resources to monitor and oversee Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal.
Support for combatting wildlife trafficking Senator Coons helped secure $75.5 million for specific efforts to combat wildlife trafficking, $250 million for USAID biodiversity programs, $146.6 million for the Global Environment Facility, and $7 million for international conservation programs. Senator Coons introduced the END Wildlife Trafficking bill with Senator Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) that supports the ongoing work of the Presidential Task Force on Combating Wildlife Trafficking and directs the Task Force to coordinate anti-trafficking efforts. The bill passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously earlier this year and is now ready for consideration by the full Senate.
Support for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Senator Coons helped secure $905 million for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an independent U.S. foreign aid agency established by the U.S. in 2004, which leads the fight against global poverty. The Appropriations committee accepted significant portions of the Millennium Compacts for Regional Economic Integration Act,a bill which received broad bipartisan support in the Foreign Relations Committee. The bill and the provision in this appropriations bill would enable the MCC to address regional development challenges and enhance trans-border economic growth opportunities in the developing world.
Support for Power Africa initiative Senator Coons helped secure $291 million for the Power Africa program. Senator Coons, the former chair of the Africa Subcommittee, played a critical role in passing the Electrify Africa bill in the Senate that was signed into law this February, legislation that builds on the success of President Obama’s Power Africa initiative. Power Africa has shown the potential of reliable power to transform schools, homes, and industries across the continent.
Support for Atrocities Prevention
The bill provides $25 million to prevent atrocities and implement the recommendations of the Atrocities Prevention Board, including with respect to the Secretary of State’s determination in March 2016 that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) “is responsible for genocide against groups in areas under its control, including Yezidis, Christians, and Shia Muslims [and] is also responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing directed at these same groups and in some cases against Sunni Muslims and Kurds and other minorities.”
WASHINGTON – Today, the Senate Commerce Committee approved the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act, which includes several of U.S. Senator Chris Coons’ (D-Del.) science, technology and advanced manufacturing priorities. The bill is now ready for consideration by the full Senate.
“I’m thrilled the Commerce committee came together in a bipartisan way to pass this critical legislation to jumpstart America’s innovation economy and sharpen our country’s competitive edge,” said Senator Coons. “I’m pleased many of the priorities I’ve been fighting for in the Senate were included in this bill, from my bill supporting sustainable chemistry that would spur innovation and create jobs, to my proposal to help the government utilize crowdsourcing and citizen science in tackling a range of challenges facing our country. This bipartisan bill also includes my legislation to support and expand two key programs that serve manufacturing companies and train scientists and engineers to start new businesses. I will continue to push for its passage through Congress to support the critical STEM education, research, and advanced manufacturing activities that keep the U.S. competitive.”
A list of Senator Coons’ priorities that were included in the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act are below:
Proposal to promote open science, innovation in government Senator Coons secured his proposal to encourage and increase the use of crowdsourcing and citizen science within the federal government to advance and accelerate scientific research, literacy, and diplomacy. This is the first ever legislation, co-sponsored by Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.), to grant explicit authority to the government to use these methods. Specifically, it provides clarification and guidelines for government agencies to utilize crowdsourcing and citizen science methods, harnessing the resourcefulness and innovation of the public to solve problems without requiring any new funding or authorizations. Delaware Nature Society, The Nature Conservancy, Stroud Water, and the National Park Service are all using open science to monitor and improve water quality in Delaware and learn more about Delaware’s environment.
Proposal to improve Manufacturing Extension Partnerships program Senator Coons secured his proposal, co-sponsored by Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Angus King (I-Maine), to expand and improve the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program to better serve small and medium-sized manufacturing companies. The MEP program is the premier federal program addressing critical needs of small and medium-sized manufacturers. MEP centers offer resources that enable manufacturers to compete globally, support greater supply chain integration, and provide access to information, training, and technologies that improve efficiency, productivity, and profitability. Built on a nationwide network of centers located in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, the MEP program is a partnership between the federal government and a variety of private sector entities that serve as trusted business advisors and technical experts to thousands of small to medium-sized manufacturers. The Delaware MEP has helped train thousands of employees and helped dozens of Delaware manufacturers—large and small—improve their facilities and save money.
Proposal to strengthen the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) I-Corps program Senator Coons secured his proposal, co-sponsored by Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), to expand and improve the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) highly successful Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program that trains scientists and engineers with the skills needed to start new businesses and create new jobs. I-Corps connects scientists and engineers with the technological, entrepreneurial, and business communities necessary to move discoveries from the laboratory to the market. This bill builds on NSF’s recent success with I-Corps to help create regional networks for innovation by providing researchers, students, and universities with the training and resources they need to develop products and services that benefit the economy and society. University of Delaware’s Horn Program and many students hoping to create their own companies have benefited from I-Corps.
Proposal to bolster the field of sustainable chemistry Senator Coons secured his proposal, co-sponsored by Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), to support innovation in the field of sustainable chemistry. Sustainable chemistry is a sector that includes goals such as reducing chemical risk to human health and the environment, increasing efficient use of resources, and designing products and processes with consideration of the entire lifecycle. It is creating jobs and spurring economic development in the private sector, but federal efforts in this area are not well-coordinated. The legislation would require coordination of existing federal efforts in sustainable chemistry and the development of a framework for future efforts to support sustainable chemistry research and development, technology transfer, commercialization, education, training, and public-private partnerships. It also encourages the inclusion of stakeholder input from industry, academia, defense, state and local governments, and non-governmental organizations. Importantly, the bill does not include any regulatory components, nor does it authorize new spending. Its goal, rather, is to coordinate federal activities in sustainable chemistry in order to maximize our federal research dollars in this area. Delaware is home to a number of chemical companies like Croda and White Dog Labs that are seen as leaders in sustainable chemistry.
Support for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education programs Senator Coons strongly urged the Committee to include continued support for STEM education programs at all levels. The bill calls for continued prioritization, direction, and coordination among key federal agencies to ensure that the U.S. continues to invest in STEM from K-12 through higher education and into workforce development.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), senior Democrat on the Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts Judiciary Subcommittee, today questioned witnesses at a hearing convened by subcommittee Chairman Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas). The hearing was titled, “Willful Blindness: Consequences of Agency Efforts to Deemphasize Radical Islam in Combating Terrorism,” yet failed to consider any real solutions for fighting terrorism.
Excerpts from Senator Coons’ remarks:
“Frankly, I think whether you call it radical Islam, radical Islamism, Islamic extremism – spending three hours arguing about these semantics in my view hasn’t really moved us anywhere closer towards developing new and more effective ways to combat terror and to defeat ISIS.”
“Today’s hearing presents the American people with a false choice: Its very premise suggests we can either keep America safe or preserve our fundamental values. And I reject that premise.”
“We can and must defeat terrorism without sacrificing our constitutional principles.”
“We cannot fight radicalization with further radicalization.”
“ISIS is not Islamic – it is a perverted misinterpretation of one of the world’s great religions. It is a death cult that has killed more Muslims than Christians, and the extremists who call themselves ISIS neither practice Islam nor speak for it.”
“I utterly reject the notion that there is some sort of political correctness preventing us from fighting our enemies. Any suggestion the administration is simply too polite to pursue threats posed to this country is disrespectful to the brave men and women who devote their lives to keeping us safe.”
“Politicians in America and Europe who cast a broad brush of blame on “radical Islam” feed the sense of an isolated and aggrieved Muslim community, which only seeks to empower ISIS.”
Transcript of Senator Coons’ opening remarks below:
In my view, today’s hearing presents the American people with a false choice: its very premise suggests we can either keep America safe or preserve our fundamental values. And I reject that premise.
We can and must defeat terrorism without sacrificing our constitutional principles. And to compromise these principles and blame over a billion Muslims for the twisted actions of an extremist few only serves to divide Americans, to alienate the Muslim world, and to legitimate the murderous groups who falsely claim to speak for Islam. This makes us less safe. To truly tackle and destroy the extremist ideologies that lead fanatics to do us harm, we will be best defended by maintaining our values of openness, tolerance, and religious freedom. We cannot fight radicalization with further radicalization.
As we hold today’s hearing, the country is still trying to make sense of a tragic attack in Orlando. 16 days ago, a man entered the Pulse nightclub with dangerous weapons and massacred 49 innocent people, injuring 50 more, leaving our nation and world shaken. These acts of violence are sadly all too familiar and leave us asking why this Congress refuses to take simple actions to prevent them. The particular form of violent pathology Omar Mateen undertook will continue to be the subject of scrutiny in days and weeks to come, but there are a few base facts I want to assert.
First, as a nation we are not at war with the religion of Islam. A deranged murder’s invocation of Islam was a hollow attempt to justify his rampage by cloaking it in the legitimacy of religion.
Second, we know that ISIS is trying to falsely characterize as the United States and our allies as being at war with Islam, and ISIS is trying to characterize itself as the legitimate heir to the Prophet Muhammad. ISIS is not Islamic – it is a perverted misinterpretation of one of the world’s great religions. It is a death cult that has killed more Muslims than Christians, and the extremists who call themselves ISIS neither practice Islam nor speak for it.
No religion condones the massacring of thousands of innocent people. And both faithful Muslims and theological leaders around the world have denounced ISIS as the terror group that it is and disclaimed its deviant interpretation of their religion. As you raise the concern or question about whether President Obama and his administration are committed to combatting and defeating ISIS, let me briefly recount that the President has also condemned the threat of ISIS and set about defeating it, not with debates over a few words, but with decisive action. The United States and its coalition of allied partners have carried out more than 13,000 airstrikes and killed more than 25,000 ISIS fighters and more than 120 ISIS leaders. Over the past year, ISIS has lost more than half the territory once controlled in Iraq and nearly a quarter in Syria. The United States successfully built a 66 nation coalition to fight ISIS and these partners, including 19 Muslim majority states and organizations are committed to eliminating the threat posed by ISIS and have contributed across a wide range of ways to the effort to combat ISIS in the Middle East, and Iraq, and Syria, and beyond.
Third, there are over 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, including millions who are American citizens and are interwoven into the fabric of our nation – they are doctors, and lawyers, and scholars, service members, police officers, members of Congress, parents, colleagues, and friends. Over the last several months, I’ve been deeply disturbed by inflammatory rhetoric directed towards Muslims and the way this disparagement has affected our political discourse in the United States. Our Muslim-American citizens and neighbors share our stake in the nation’s security and our desire to be free from violence and hate.
Last, we know that our nation can defeat terrorists without betraying our values. Ensuring that our national security agencies are fully funded and that they are able to engage in clear-eyed pursuit of all threats, and promoting what are demonstrated to be effective law enforcement techniques without prejudice are the best ways to promote our safety.
I utterly reject the notion that there is some sort of political correctness preventing us from fighting our enemies. Any suggestion the administration is simply too polite to pursue threats posed to this country is disrespectful to the brave men and women who devote their lives to keeping us safe. Meanwhile politicians in America and Europe who cast a broad brush of blame on “radical Islam” feed the sense of an isolated and aggrieved Muslim community, which only seeks to empower ISIS.
Let me submit for the record if I could a wide range of different documents, but first a statement of principle signed by dozens of foreign policy leaders including former secretaries Madeline Albright, Michael Chertoff, and Chuck Hagel, which correctly states, I quote, “religious bans and tests are un-American, and have no place in our refugee and immigration policies.” Mr. Chairman, I have a long list of statements I’d like to submit for the record, from the ranking member Senator Leahy, from Centerlink, from Muslim Public Affairs Council, Amnesty International, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, a recent NYT article by Aziz Ansari, a Washington Post article by General Petraeus. I assume those can be submitted without objection.
As to the empty seats before us and your opening comments, Mr. Chairman, it is my understanding this hearing was scheduled with a bare minimum of notice and no consultation with the invited witnesses from the Administration regarding their schedules. It is my expectation they are busy keeping our country safe, and as you surely appreciate from your work at the Justice Department, asking witnesses here to speak about the ongoing investigations into the Orlando incident would not have produced any productive testimony. And I will note that the Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson will be before this exact committee in two days prepared to answer questions.
Let me close by quoting what I just submitted for the record — an article by General David Petraeus. Quote, “those who flirt with hate speech against Muslims should realize they are playing directly into the hands of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State…Demonizing a[n entire] religious faith and its adherents not only runs contrary to our most cherished and fundamental values as a country; it is also corrosive to our vital national security interests and, ultimately, to [our] success in this war.” I look forward to what I hope can be a productive conversation about our national security, our civil liberties, and respect for Muslim Americans. Thank you.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court reached a decision today in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt.
“I’m relieved the Supreme Court ruled today to uphold a woman’s right to access health care and make her own health care decisions – rights that should never have been in question in the first place,” said Senator Coons. “Today’s ruling sends a clear message to Texas and states across the country that laws that effectively block women’s access to health care are unconstitutional. Today’s ruling is also a reminder of the Supreme Court’s critical role as the last line of defense against incursions on constitutional rights, and why the American people deserve a full and functioning Supreme Court.”
WASHINGTON – Last Thursday, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations to assess the nuclear agreement with Iran roughly one year since it was reached. Following his remarks, Sen. Coons was joined by Washington Post columnist and associate editor David Ignatius for a question-and-answer session.
On Friday, Senator Coons published an op-ed on CNN.com entitled, “The lessons of the Iran deal,” which echoes the themes of his remarks.
Senator Coons’ opening remarks as delivered at the Council on Foreign Relations:
Today, as we approach the one-year anniversary of the announcement of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the JCPOA, I will evaluation whether this deal has succeeded so far, and explain what I’ve done to honor my commitment to aggressively oversee its implementation and its enforcement. Last year, as David just mentioned, after closely scrutinizing the terms of the deal, I concluded that it represented the least-bad option for achieving one of America’s most important foreign policy priorities: preventing Iran from developing or obtaining a nuclear weapon. Since implementation day of this agreement in January, we have seen real and meaningful progress toward that goal.
As I suspect everyone in this room knows, but is important to repeat, Iran has shipped 12 tons of enriched uranium—virtually its entire stockpile—out of the country. The Iranian regime has reduced by two-thirds the number of its functioning uranium enrichment centrifuges. And it has permanently reengineered the Arak Heavy Water Reactor by filling its core with concrete. These three steps in combination cut off Iran’s most likely short-term pathways to a nuclear weapon with either uranium or plutonium.
Iran has also give the International Atomic Energy Agency, or the IAEA, the world’s nuclear watchdog, unprecedented 24/7 access to monitor all of its declared nuclear facilities. That access covers Iran’s entire nuclear supply chain, from Iranian mines and mills to centrifuge production and enrichment facilities—every known nuclear site in Iran. These steps have, for now, frozen Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon. And as a result of Iran’s initial compliance with the agreement, the time for it to break out, to assemble enough fissile material for one nuclear weapon has extended significantly from just two or three months to now more than a year.
So measured by whether the agreement has prevented Iran from developing or obtaining a nuclear weapon, this deal has, so far, been successful. I also, though, have long suspected Iran that would seek to push the boundaries of the deal in ways both minor or major, to test how the United States and our allies would respond. Earlier this week, I had an in-person meeting with Ambassador Steve Mull, the Obama administration’s lead coordinator for Iran nuclear implementation. And I heard what I hoped for, and what I expected, that the Departments of State, Treasury, Energy, and our intelligence community are working closely together to aggressively monitor and enforce the JCPOA.
American officials also are communicating regularly and closely with their Iranian counterparts, with the European Union, and the other key parties to the deal. And as I anticipated, there have been a handful of occasions in the past year in which the United States has had to mobilize our P5+1 partners to hold Iran closely to the parameters of the JCPOA. Here’s a public example. When Iran’s heavy water stockpile in February briefly reached 130.9 metric tons, exceeding the JCPOA limit of 130 metric tons, the IAEA quickly observed this anomaly, reported it to the partner countries, we took action, and Iran addressed it. There are several other incidents I can’t describe in public, but in each case the United States rallied our international partners to promptly address a discrepancy or disagreement and successfully enforce this direct interpretation of the deal.
In the years to come—in the many years to come—we have to focus on continuing aggressive enforcement, and congressional oversight will remain critical. But we also have to continue to push back on Iran’s destabilizing and provocative actions outside the four corners, the parameters of the nuclear agreement. From its repeated calls for the destruction of Israel, to its support for terrorism in Syria and Iraq and Yemen, to its ongoing illegal ballistic missile tests, and its human rights violations, Iran is not a responsible state seeking to rejoin the international community. These actions underscore an important point about the deal: The JCPOA was, is, and will mostly likely remain a transactional, not a transformational, agreement.
This deal seeks to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, not to bring Iran into the community of nations. Only a genuine change in direction by the Iranian regime can do that. Rather, though, than walking away from the deal, in my view the United States must remain engaged, and to lead the international community’s enforcement of the agreement. As I tell my Senate colleagues regularly, whether you opposed or supported the JCPOA last year, we have a shared interest in working together this year and in the future to make sure this deal succeeds.
With that said, let me briefly review broadly where we are today, nearly a year into the deal. Two things really haven’t changed at all. First, Iran remains untrustworthy. Since its 1979 revolution, Iran has pursued interests and advocated values that are completely opposed to those of the West. And its approach to regional crises has not changed. Second, Iran continues to exploit weak states and power vacuums. And we need to disrupt Iran’s destabilizing activities in the Middle East and to support our regional partners, most importantly by promptly concluding a strengthened 10-year memorandum of understanding on defense priorities with Israel.
But two additional points I think are worth emphasizing. Broadly, the last year has shown that international agreement and multilateral diplomacy can be effective, even with rogue states like Iran. There is value in talking with our enemies. Second, we’re today engaged in a public disagreement with Iran about whether it is, in fact, seeing the benefits of the deal. When Valiollah Seif, the governor of Iran’s Central Bank, spoke here at the Council on Foreign Relations earlier this year in April, he argued that the United States and our European allies had not honored our JCPOA obligations, because Iran hasn’t been able to access the global financial system, and hasn’t realized the economic benefits they foresaw from this deal.
But here’s how I see it. The United States has upheld our end of the bargain. We have not prevented Iran from receiving economic benefits associated with the deal. In fact, their recent activity, significant increases in oil exports, billions of dollars in recent deals, and projected economic growth of 3 to 5 percent casts real doubt on Iran’s claims. In my view, Iran alone is responsible for making its market an attractive and safe place in which to do business. And for many corporations and individuals, Iran is neither attractive, nor safe. And I am concerned that by entertaining Iranian complaints of inadequate sanctions relief we risk giving these claims legitimacy.
If Iran is unhappy with the level of economic benefits its received since the JCPOA, it has only itself and its own actions to blame. Today, as we look beyond year one of the JCPOA and look ahead to five, 10, or 15 years from now, one thing is clear: If this agreement is to succeed long term, engaged congressional oversight remains essential. This oversight falls into two categories, starting with congressional pushback on Iran’s bad behavior outside the deal’s parameters.
That’s why I’ve continued to be outspoken on the floor of the Senate in calling for stronger efforts to interdict Iranian arms shipments to the Houthi rebels in Yemen, and in celebrating those interdictions that have occurred. I’ve also asked foreign leaders, including those from Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, India, and Russian, about how to strengthen our efforts together to counter Iranian aggression. And I’ve urged Congress to provide this administration with unilateral authority to address Iran’s ongoing ballistic missile tests, given the inertia in the U.N. Security Council. I’ve called on the administration as well to levy additional sanctions against IRGC-affiliated entities, like Mahan Aar, which Treasury has done. And I’ve worked to secure increased funding for Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, which enforces these sanctions.
But Congress also has to remain engaged in overseeing the enforcement of the nuclear deal itself. In January, I joined a congressional delegation in visiting IAEA headquarters in Vienna, where we met with Director General Amano. The JCPOA allows hundreds of nuclear inspectors to oversee Iran’s nuclear program through both remote online enrichment monitoring and intrusive in-person inspections. These inspectors, trained in America’s unique national labs, are funded by the United States Congress, and utilize cutting-edge technology, largely developed by our scientists.
Because we are asking the IAEA to engage in an unprecedented level of oversight, Director General Amano has recently publicly raised concerns that his agency is stretched thin as it works to implement this deal. That’s why Congress must do our part to ensure the IAEA has reliable, long-term resources. This IAEA responsibility has taken on an even greater importance this week, given recent news that that agency has detected signs of North Korean plutonium reprocessing. The IAEA responsibilities remain global and important, and need to be effectively sustained.
I’ve also repeatedly called on Congress to take full advantage of the IAEA’s unprecedented access to Iran’s nuclear program, by increasing our voluntary contribution to the agency, which would encourage our international partners to do so as well. In addition, I’ve pressed for the confirmation of Laura Holgate as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. offices in Vienna, which includes the IAEA. And I’ve called for the renewal of the Iran Sanctions Act, so that we have a viable mechanism to snap back sanctions in Iran violations the JCPOA. I intend to uphold my commitment to oversee strict enforcement of this deal, regardless of who is elected president this fall.
As our moderator this afternoon recently wrote in a column: The Iran nuclear agreement deserves far more attention in this presidential campaign. And I couldn’t agree more. If we abandon the JCPOA, we don’t end up with a better agreement, nor do we end up with no agreement. Instead, our partners around the world will most likely develop a new strategy to deal with Iran without American leadership or input. If we abandon this agreement, we signal that we’re giving up on diplomacy. We could lose valuable intelligence. We would forego the support of our allies. And we would close vital communications channels to senior Iranian leaders that have helped to restrain Iran’s nuclear program. Frankly, I think that’s exactly what the most conservative elements in Iran’s regime want.
But let me be clear about that. We can, and we should, distinguish between the Iranian regime and the Iranian people. The people of Iran continue to turn out at the polls to vote, even in elections that are not truly free nor fair. They have repeatedly demonstrated in the streets for democracy and engagement, risking their lives to do so. The Iranian people deserve our support in their struggle for human rights and democracy, especially during this sacred month of Ramadan, as Muslims around the world reflect on their hopes for peace. But the Iranian regime deserves condemnation for a decades-long pattern of human rights abuses, support for terrorism, and other bad behavior.
The government of Iran, the Iranian regime, remains a dangerous revolutionary government, and it will continue to present a potential nuclear threat for decades to come. Preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon will require steady leadership, an understanding of the complexities of international diplomacy, and constant scrutiny of Iran’s behavior. These tasks must be the responsibility not just of this president this year, but a top priority for the next president, the intelligence community, and members of Congress for many years to come. That’s why I intend to stay actively engaged in monitoring enforcement of the deal, in advocating for a strong foreign policy that supports our allies in the Middle East and promotes American interests and values around the world. Thank you.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement about Senator Susan Collins’ (R-Maine) bill to keep suspected terrorists from purchasing guns.
“The fact that Sen. Collins’ bill received a majority vote today shows the momentum in Congress is slowly shifting to reflect the will of the American people – a strong majority of whom support basic measures to combat our national epidemic of gun violence,” said Senator Coons. “I’m going to continue to fight for legislation that most Americans agree is common sense: preventing known or suspected terrorists from being able to buy military-grade weapons, and requiring comprehensive background checks for everyone seeking to obtain a firearm. Only in Congress are these ideas controversial. We have much more to do, but today’s vote represents a bipartisan first step in a long-overdue march towards ending the scourge of gun violence in America.”
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.), top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Congressman John Carney (D-Del.) released the following statement in reaction the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in United States v. Texas. In a vote of 4-4, the Court blocked President Obama’s executive actions on the expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and the new Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) programs.
“I’m extremely disappointed by the Supreme Court’s deadlocked decision regarding President Obama’s efforts to help tens of thousands of children and families who have made a home in the United States,” said Senator Carper. “For many of the more than 11 million people living in this country without documentation, young adults in particular, America is the only home they’ve known. They’ve been living in our communities for years, abiding by the law, paying taxes, attending our schools, and in some cases, even honorably serving our nation in the military. They are American in every way, except on paper. In the absence of much-needed legislative action, President Obama has used his existing authority to bring some certainty to families across the country that would otherwise be living in constant fear. The original DACA program – which still stands – has helped tens of thousands of young adults step out of the shadows and contribute fully and openly to our communities. The President’s 2014 executive actions were an attempt to help a larger group of young adults, as well as the parents of many U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents. They deserve this temporary relief, which would allow them to focus on school and work and go about their lives while the Congress dithers and refuses to do its job and fix our broken immigration system. We should be focusing on fixing our immigration system, not punishing families and kids who are trapped in this broken system.”
Carper continued, “It is also critical to note that today’s ruling was not an affirmative decision to block these executive actions, but a clear lack of a decision in the absence of a full bench. A 4-4 tie is a stark reminder of the damage being done to our country and our democracy by Republicans’ refusal to consider the nomination of Judge Garland to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court. Every member of the Senate has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution, some of us many times over, and failing to consider this nomination is an abdication of our responsibilities to this country. It is unacceptable for us to continue playing partisan politics with the Constitution and hampering our country’s highest court. We know all too well that justice delayed is justice denied and that is exactly what we have witnessed today. The Senate must do its job and fill this vacancy to restore our Supreme Court to full strength.”
“The 4-4 decision by the Supreme Court today leaves millions of families and kids vulnerable to deportation with no path towards citizenship. It’s a clear demonstration of why we need comprehensive immigration reform – and how the Supreme Court vacancy has hobbled the Court’s ability to address our country’s most urgent problems,” said Senator Coons. “The Court’s inability to reach a decision today not only threatens to tear apart families who are already contributing to this country, but also leaves the United States without clarity on an issue at the heart of our identity. I’m disappointed by today’s decision, and I urge my colleagues in the Senate to do our jobs and move forward with Chief Judge Merrick Garland’s confirmation.”
“I’m extremely disappointed in this decision. It only underlines the dysfunction hampering our highest court as they sit without a full bench. Suspending these programs will tear apart families across the country, many of which are simply trying to achieve the American Dream. I will continue to urge my colleagues in the House to pass comprehensive immigration reform to address these issues,” Congressman Carney said.