Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the prevention of Iran from obtaining or developing nuclear weapons.

IV 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. SCHA- KOWSKY, 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 regard- ing 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 viola- tion of United Nations Security Council resolutions, threatens United States forces and interests, continues to imprison American citizens, threatens regional allies and VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:20 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR495.IH HR495 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 495 IH partners, and utilizes proxies to destabilize the Middle East; Whereas these activities remain under non-nuclear sanctions and must be addressed through sustained diplomatic en- gagement with Iran and our allies; Whereas the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was agreed to by the P5+1 (the United States, the Peo- ple’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, se- curing 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 weap- ons; Whereas the JCPOA allows for indefinite inspections and verification to ensure Iranian compliance, including 24- hour, 7-day-a-week inspections and mitigation mecha- nisms 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 ac- tivities 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 cen- trifuges and place them under international monitoring, VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:20 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR495.IH HR495 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 495 IH 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 inter- national nonproliferation agreements and such agree- ments 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 with- drawing 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 al- lies 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 ef- forts and jeopardizes the international community’s abil- ity 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 sanc- VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:05 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR495.IH HR495 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 495 IH tions, 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 coordi- nated 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 en- gagement 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 Rep- 1 resentatives that— 2 (1) the JCPOA is a key international non- 3 proliferation achievement that has effectively guard- 4 ed against Iran developing nuclear weapons and is 5 vital to maintaining and protecting the national se- 6 curity of the United States; 7 (2) the United States should resume its obliga- 8 tions under the JCPOA, fully reimplement its com- 9 mitments under the agreement, utilize multilateral 10 and bilateral diplomacy to achieve political solutions 11 to remaining challenges with Iran, and use the 12 JCPOA as a foundation from which to build follow- 13 on agreements; 14 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:20 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR495.IH HR495 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 495 IH (3) the remaining P5+1 partners are encour- 1 aged to use the JCPOA conflict mitigation mecha- 2 nisms to address any compliance challenges with 3 Iran or other parties to the agreement; 4 (4) the Government of Iran is encouraged to 5 ensure compliance with its obligations under the 6 JCPOA, as Iranian compliance is essential to the 7 prospect of United States re-entry and any future 8 agreements; and 9 (5) the Trump administration should imme- 10 diately establish and utilize diplomatic and military 11 deconfliction channels with Iran to prevent mis- 12 calculations and defuse tensions as they arise. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:20 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR495.IH HR495 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS