Bill Summary
This resolution expresses the sentiment of the House of Representatives in regards to preventing Iran from obtaining or developing nuclear weapons. It highlights the importance of this issue for the national security of the United States and its allies, and acknowledges that Iran has engaged in activities that threaten the safety and stability of the region. It also recognizes the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as a successful international agreement that effectively prevents Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. The resolution encourages the United States to resume its obligations under the JCPOA and use it as a foundation for future agreements. It also calls for the remaining P5+1 partners to use conflict mitigation mechanisms to address any compliance issues with Iran. The resolution emphasizes the importance of Iranian compliance with the JCPOA and urges the Trump administration to establish diplomatic and military channels with Iran to prevent misunderstandings and reduce tensions.
Possible Impacts
1. The legislation could potentially affect citizens who have family members or friends living in Iran, as it could lead to increased tensions and the possibility of military conflict.
2. The legislation could impact global trade and financial systems, as the reimplementation of sanctions could lead to economic consequences for both the United States and Iran.
3. The legislation could affect the United States' relationship with its allies, as it calls for the United States to resume its obligations under the JCPOA and utilize multilateral diplomacy. This could potentially strain relationships with allies who do not support the United States' decision to withdraw from the agreement.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 495 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 495
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the
prevention of Iran from obtaining or developing nuclear weapons.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 16, 2019
Ms. Lee of California (for herself, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Ms.
Schakowsky, Mr. Yarmuth, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Levin of
Michigan, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Payne, Mr. Grijalva, Mr.
Lowenthal, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Gallego, Ms. Haaland, Ms.
Eshoo, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Beyer, Ms. Speier, Mr. McGovern, Mr.
Ruppersberger, Mr. Butterfield, and Mr. Rush) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the
prevention of Iran from obtaining or developing nuclear weapons.
Whereas it is in the vital interest of the United States and its allies to
prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons;
Whereas Iran remains a leading state sponsor of terrorism, continues to develop
and test missile technology in violation of United Nations Security
Council resolutions, threatens United States forces and interests,
continues to imprison American citizens, threatens regional allies and
partners, and utilizes proxies to destabilize the Middle East;
Whereas these activities remain under non-nuclear sanctions and must be
addressed through sustained diplomatic engagement with Iran and our
allies;
Whereas the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was agreed to by the P5+1
(the United States, the People's Republic of China, France, Germany, the
Russian Federation, the United Kingdom), and Iran on July 14, 2015, and
entered into effect on January 16, 2016, securing an international
agreement that effectively cut off all pathways to an Iranian nuclear
weapon;
Whereas the JCPOA was unanimously endorsed by the United Nations Security
Council;
Whereas the JCPOA committed Iran to implementing the Non-Proliferation Treaty
that would prohibit Iran from ever seeking, developing, or acquiring any
nuclear weapons;
Whereas the JCPOA allows for indefinite inspections and verification to ensure
Iranian compliance, including 24-hour, 7-day-a-week inspections and
mitigation mechanisms for any potential violations;
Whereas the JCPOA was solely intended to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear
weapons, allowing the United States and its allies to counter other
Iranian malign activities without Iran being shielded by a nuclear
umbrella;
Whereas the JCPOA resulted in Iran taking verifiable and concrete steps to
eliminate 97 percent of its uranium stockpile, halt all uranium
enrichment activities at the underground Fordow site, decommission over
13,000 centrifuges and place them under international monitoring, and
destroy the core of its heavy-water reactor, thereby blocking production
of weapons-grade plutonium;
Whereas the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), United States verified
that Iran remained in compliance with the terms of the JCPOA until July
2019;
Whereas Iran's decision to surpass limits on its low enriched uranium stockpile
was a direct response to the Trump Administration's unilateral violation
of JCPOA;
Whereas nothing in the JCPOA prevents the United States and its allies from
seeking follow-on agreements with Iran, just as the United States has
done with other international nonproliferation agreements and such
agreements may address expiring provisions under the JCPOA;
Whereas President Donald J. Trump unilaterally violated the United States
commitment to the JCPOA and United Nations Security Council Resolution
2231 by withdrawing the United States from the agreement on May 8, 2018;
Whereas the United States unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA has undermined
United States global leadership and isolated the United States from its
allies, leading allies and any future negotiating partners to question
the United States commitment to international agreements;
Whereas the withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA undermines global
nuclear nonproliferation efforts and jeopardizes the international
community's ability to maintain nuclear inspectors on the ground in
Iran;
Whereas the reimplementation of JCPOA-related secondary sanctions by the United
States has led to the attempted creation of a vehicle to circumvent
United States sanctions, which undermines the influence of the United
States in the global financial system and the United States global
sanctions architecture;
Whereas since withdrawing from the JCPOA, tensions with Iran have increased, and
the Trump administration has failed to communicate or implement a viable
and coordinated strategy to curb Iranian activities at odds with the
interests of the United States, greatly increasing the risk of a direct
military confrontation; and
Whereas the lack of sustained and principled diplomatic engagement with Iran and
the absence of United States-Iran deconfliction channels undermines the
ability of the United States to deal with rising tensions with Iran:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives
that--
(1) the JCPOA is a key international nonproliferation
achievement that has effectively guarded against Iran
developing nuclear weapons and is vital to maintaining and
protecting the national security of the United States;
(2) the United States should resume its obligations under
the JCPOA, fully reimplement its commitments under the
agreement, utilize multilateral and bilateral diplomacy to
achieve political solutions to remaining challenges with Iran,
and use the JCPOA as a foundation from which to build follow-on
agreements;
(3) the remaining P5+1 partners are encouraged to use the
JCPOA conflict mitigation mechanisms to address any compliance
challenges with Iran or other parties to the agreement;
(4) the Government of Iran is encouraged to ensure
compliance with its obligations under the JCPOA, as Iranian
compliance is essential to the prospect of United States re-
entry and any future agreements; and
(5) the Trump administration should immediately establish
and utilize diplomatic and military deconfliction channels with
Iran to prevent miscalculations and defuse tensions as they
arise.
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