To amend the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996 to extend the authorities provided in such Act until September 29, 2006.

Mr. Speaker, as the work of the committee continues on this temporary reauthorization, I think it is important to have a few reflections. This is the 10th anniversary of the original sanctions law, and I think it would behoove us to ask what those sanctions have accomplished. This legislation seeks to renew for a period of 2 months a confusing, ineffective and, at best, counterproductive, at worst, counterproductive sanctions policy against Iran.

Iran justly remains a focal point of security concerns for our Nation. It supports those who use violence as a means of settling political disputes. It

is threatening rhetoric with respect to Israel. And there is world concerns about its desire to ramp up nuclear production. All these things, in my judgment, make it mandatory the United States seek immediate talks with Iran.

We must reach out to parties in the region to begin to negotiate an end to the violence and the beginning of a peace process leading to a permanent resolution. Now, our leaders haven't taken that approach. They are seeking to isolate Iran, and instead we are starting to isolate ourselves.

These sanctions are indirect. They are not targeted at objectionable behavior. According to Anthony Wayne, the Assistant Secretary For Economic and Business Affairs, U.S. Department of State, testifying before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on June 28, 2001, talking about the Libya and Iran Sanctions Act, he says that ``it focuses on investment in order to limit revenue, rather than focusing directly on actions by Iran to procure weapons of mass destruction and support terrorism.'' He goes on to say that ``it goes against some of the friendly countries whose cooperation we need in working towards nonproliferation and counterterrorism goals.''

So these sanctions haven't been effective. There is a question about whether any sanctions are going to be effective here. These sanctions add to the price of gasoline in the United States. We are paying for these failed sanctions every time we fill up our tank.

Iran has the third largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia and Canada, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, equaling 132.5 billion barrels. Iran has the second largest natural gas reserves after Russia, equaling 16 percent of the world's reserves. The administration hasn't done anything meaningful to break our country of its dependence on petroleum, so the reality is that sanctions against investments in Iran's oil and gas fields will cause U.S. consumers to pay higher prices for gasoline and natural gas.

High prices protect the Iranian government from economic consequences of decreased investment. A military strike against Iran, which this country seems to be nodding towards, could send oil to $130 per barrel, according to CNN, making the $3 a gallon currently look like the good old days.

Now, we have to take a new direction. The same geniuses who brought us the war in Iraq, who are standing by while violence overwhelms the Middle East, these same geniuses have this plan to keep sanctions on Iran, which will drive up the price of oil, so Iran can make more money selling their oil to other countries, and the oil industry in the U.S. isn't complaining about it because they are making record profits.

We need to take a new approach. That approach is to engage Iran directly and to stop isolating them and to bring them to a peaceful resolution of the issues that are currently inflaming so much of the world. This is a time for us to take a new direction. I don't think that we are headed that way, but I think that when we are looking at renewal of a sanctions regime we ought to be talking about whether or not it is in the best interests of this country to take the direction we are taking.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5877) to amend the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996 to extend the authorities provided in such Act until September 29, 2006.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I rise in strong support of H.R. 5877, a bill I introduced yesterday with Chairman Hyde of the House International Relations Committee; Mr. Lantos, coauthor of the Iran Freedom Support Act and ranking member of the International Relations Committee; and my ranking member on the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia, Mr. Ackerman.

This bill is a simple housekeeping measure to, on one hand, prevent the original Iran and Libya Sanctions Act from lapsing; and, on the other hand, to afford additional time for the House and Senate to reach an agreement on the final text of the comprehensive Iran legislation, the Iran Freedom Support Act.

The focus of the Congress continues to be that articulated through the Iran Freedom Support Act, which is to address the totality of the Iranian threat and strengthen our approach to this rogue state; to hold Iran accountable for its threatening policies; and to induce greater cooperation from our allies to compel Iran to cease and desist in its pursuit of nuclear weapons capabilities.

To achieve that end, Mr. Speaker, we need H.R. 5877, which would extend the original ILSA until September 29 of this year, affording us the additional time to finalize the text of the Iran Freedom Support Act to be sent to the President for his signature.

I ask for a ``yes'' vote on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am attaching an exchange of letters between Chairman Hyde and Chairman Thomas concerning the bill H.R. 5877. ``To amend the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996 to extend the authorities provided in such Act until September 29, 2006''.

Committee on Ways and Means,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC, July 26, 2006.

Hon. Henry J. Hyde,

Chairman, Committee on International Relations, Rayburn House

Office Building, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Hyde: I am writing regarding H.R. 5877, a

bill ``To amend the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996 to

extend the authorities provided in such Act until September

29, 2006,'' which is scheduled for floor consideration on

Wednesday, July 26, 2006.

Because H.R. 5877 would amend the Iran and Libya Sanctions

Act of 1996 (ILSA) to have the effect of extending the

application of an import ban, it falls within the

jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means. However, in

order to expedite this legislation for floor consideration,

the Committee will forgo action on this bill. This is being

done with the understanding that this legislation is being

expedited in order to ensure that ILSA does not lapse while

the Congress is considering additional changes to ILSA such

as those contained in H.R. 282, the Iran Freedom Support Act,

which was passed by the House of Representatives on April 26,

2006. This action is also being done with the understanding

that it does not in any way prejudice the Committee with

respect to the appointment of conferees or its jurisdictional

prerogatives on H.R. 5877, H.R. 282, or similar legislation.

I would appreciate your response to this letter, confirming

this understanding, and would ask that a copy of our exchange

of letters on this matter be included in the Congressional

Record during floor consideration.

Best regards,

Bill Thomas,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act is scheduled to lapse within days, and the legislation before the House will extend it until September 29. This reauthorization for a brief duration is necessitated by the fact that the House and Senate are still negotiating language on a new legislative construction of the Iran Libya Sanctions Act.

We hope to complete this process soon with the passage of new legislation that will strengthen sanctions against Iran and remove from law the outdated references to sanctions on Libya, sanctions which anyway no longer apply because Libya has fulfilled the required conditions.

I urge passage of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 5877, which was received from the House.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.