Rep. Doggett Urges President Trump Not to Unilaterally Abandon Iran Agreement

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Senior Member of the Ways & Means Committee, joined Rep. David Price (D-NC) and more than 180 Members of Congress, including the entire House Democratic Leadership and those who both voted for and against the Iran Nuclear Agreement, to urge the President to recertify Iran's compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

"President Trump must choose the path of verifiable peace," said Congressman Doggett. "He has repeatedly signaled—alone and through his Administration—that he wants an excuse to back out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). With the October 15 recertification deadline looming, I urge the President not use this as his escape hatch. Experts' consensus is that the deal is working, and Trump should not strip us of our diplomatic tools to respond to this dangerous regime. The arsenal of our democracy is more than our strong military. We – Members who both voted for and against the JCPOA – urge President Trump not to recklessly undo years of diplomatic pressure and tangible progress."

"For more than two years, the JCPOA has realized its objective of constraining Iran's nuclear program to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran," said Congressman Price. "Without ironclad evidence of Iranian violations of the agreement, withholding Iran's certification of JCPOA compliance would jeopardize our national security, harm our international relationships, and embolden Iran. We urge the President to heed the advice of his military and intelligence advisors rather than play politics with national security."

Announced in July 2015, the JCPOA was negotiated by the "P5+1" (United States, China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and Germany), the European Union, and Iran that sought to cut off Iran's path to nuclear weapons capability.

The letter comes in response to recent suggestions by President Trump that he may withhold certification of Iran's compliance with the JCPOA, which must be re-certified every three months under the terms of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (INARA). INARA also requires the President to provide Congress with credible evidence of Iranian noncompliance, should violations of the JCPOA occur. No such evidence has been provided to Congress to-date, and the International Atomic Energy Agency, U.S. military and intelligence officials, and U.S. allies have indicated that Iran remains in technical compliance with the agreement.

A copy of the letter to the President is below.

Dear Mr. President,

We are writing to urge that you do not withhold certification on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) absent credible evidence of a material breach by Iran. Some of us voted for, and some against, the nuclear agreement with Iran. Nonetheless, we are united in our belief that enforcing this agreement to the fullest extent will provide the United States with more leverage to stop a potential Iranian nuclear weapons program and push back on Iran's destabilizing activities.

The Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (INARA) requires the President to provide to Congress credible evidence of Iranian noncompliance should violations of the JCPOA occur. We have received no such information to date. On the contrary, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and career U.S. military and intelligence officials continue to verify that Iran has honored its obligations under the agreement, and we remain unaware of any material change in Iranian activity since you last certified compliance to Congress on July 17.

Absent credible and accurate information confirming a material breach, we are concerned that withholding certification of Iran's compliance or walking away from the JCPOA would harm our alliances, embolden Iran, and threaten U.S. national security. We are further concerned that non-certification based on justifications beyond the scope of the nuclear agreement would threaten global non-proliferation efforts and send exactly the wrong message to North Korea at the moment we are trying to diplomatically defuse that crisis. Countries should know that unless Iran commits a material breach of the JCPOA, the United States will keep its word.

We share concerns about Iran's activities in the region, including its ballistic missile development, support for proxies and terror groups, violations of the human rights of its people, and backing of the Assad regime. That is why the Congress took the step of passing the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which provides new tools to counter Iran's malign activities.

We remain hopeful that with strong U.S. leadership, we can ensure vigorous enforcement of the JCPOA, as well as implementation of non-nuclear and multilateral sanctions, including CAATSA, to keep the American people secure and safeguard American interests.

Signatories include the following Members of the U.S. House of Representatives:

Adams, Alma

Aguilar, Pete

Barragan, Nanette

Bass, Karen

Beatty, Joyce

Bera, Ami

Beyer, Don

Bishop, Sanford

Blumenauer, Earl

Bonamici, Suzanne

Bordallo, Madeleine

Brady, Bob

Brown, Anthony

Brownley, Julia

Bustos, Cheri

Butterfield, G.K.

Capuano, Mike

Carbajal, Salud

Cardenas, Tony

Carson, Andre

Cartwright, Matt

Castor, Kathy

Castro, Joaquin

Chu, Judy

Cicilline, David

Clark, Katherine

Clarke, Yvette

Clay, Lacy

Cleaver, Emanuel

Clyburn, Jim

Cohen, Steve

Coleman, Bonnie Watson

Connolly, Gerry

Conyers, John

Cooper, Jim

Costa, Jim

Courtney, Joe

Crist, Charlie

Crowley, Joe

Cuellar, Henry

Cummings, Elijah

Davis, Danny

Davis, Susan

DeFazio, Pete

DeGette, Diana

Delaney, John

DeLauro, Rosa

Delbene, Suzan

Demings, Val

DeSaulnier, Mark

Deutch, Ted

Dingell, Debbie

Doggett, Lloyd

Doyle, Mike

Ellison, Keith

Engel, Eliot

Eshoo, Anna

Espaillat, Adriano

Esty, Elizabeth

Evans, Dwight

Foster, Bill

Frankel, Lois

Fudge, Marcia

Gabbard, Tulsi

Gallego, Ruben

Garamendi, John

Gomez, Jimmy

Green, Al

Green, Gene

Grijalva, Raul

Grisham, Michelle Lujan

Gutierrez, Luis

Hanabusa, Colleen

Hastings, Alcee

Heck, Denny

Higgins, Brian

Himes, Jim

Holmes Norton, Eleanor

Hoyer, Steny

Huffman, Jared

Jackson Lee, Sheila

Jayapal, Pramila

Jeffries, Hakeem

Johnson, Eddie Bernice

Johnson, Hank

Kaptur, Marcy

Keating, Bill

Kelly, Robin

Kennedy, Joe

Khanna, Ro

Kihuen, Ruben

Kildee, Dan

Kilmer, Derek

Krishnamoorthi, Raja

Kuster, Ann

Langevin, Jim

Larsen, Rick

Larson, John

Lawrence, Brenda

Lawson Jr., Alfred

Lee, Barbara

Levin, Sandy

Lewis, John

Lieu, Ted

Loebsack, Dave

Lofgren, Zoe

Lowenthal, Alan

Lowey, Nita

Lujan, Ben Ray

Lynch, Stephen

Maloney, Carolyn

Maloney, Sean Patrick

Matsui, Doris

McCollum, Betty

McEachin, Don

McGovern, Jim

McNerney, Jerry

Meeks, Gregory

Meng, Grace

Moore, Gwen

Moulton, Seth

Nadler, Jerry

Neal, Richard

Nolan, Rick

Norcross, Donald

O'Rourke, Beto

Pallone, Frank

Panetta, Jimmy

Pascrell, Bill

Payne, Donald

Pelosi, Nancy

Perlmutter, Ed

Peters, Scott

Pingree, Chellie

Plaskett, Stacey

Pocan, Mark

Polis, Jared

Price, David

Quigley, Mike

Raskin, Jamie

Rice, Kathleen

Richmond, Cedric

Rochester, Lisa Blunt

Rosen, Jacky

Royball-Allard, Lucille

Ruiz, Raul

Ruppersberger, Dutch

Rush, Bobby

Ryan, Tim

Sablan, Gregorio Kilili Camacho

Sanchez, Linda

Sarbanes, John

Schakowsky, Jan

Schiff, Adam

Schrader, Kurt

Scott, Bobby

Scott, David

Serrano, Jose

Sewell, Terri

Shea-Porter, Carol

Sires, Albio

Slaughter, Louise

Smith, Adam

Soto, Darren

Speier, Jackie

Suozzi, Thomas

Swalwell, Eric

Takano, Mark

Thompson, Bennie

Thompson, Mike

Titus, Dina

Tonko, Paul

Torres, Norma

Tsongas, Niki

Veasey, Marc

Velazquez, Nydia

Visclosky, Peter

Walz, Tim

Wasserman Schultz, Debbie

Welch, Peter

Wilson, Frederica

Yarmuth, John

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