Contact: Caroline Rabbitt (202) 224-2353
Washington, D.C.- Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today blocked Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) from bringing the nomination of Adam Szubin for Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes at the U.S. Department of Treasury to the Senate floor for a vote. Senator Cotton objects to the Obama Administration's intention to grant Iran access to the U.S. dollar. His full remarks can be found below. Additonally, a video of his remarks can be found here.
"Until just a few weeks ago I did not object to Mr. Szubin's nomination. I did oppose the nomination in the Banking Committee because he supports a clearly inconsistent interpretation of the Iran Threats Reduction Act because it would hinder the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal. To be fair to Mr. Szubin, he is well respected on both sides of the aisle having worked in the former Bush administration. I suspect this is not his interpretation. This is the interpretation of the community organizer and the failed novelist and the political operative who are in charge of implementing these parts of the Iran nuclear deal. However, I couldn't in good conscience support the nomination given that clearly flawed interpretation. But just two or three weeks ago Secretary Jack Lew gave a speech in which he all but announced the United States government was going to allow Iran access to the U.S. dollar. This would truly unravel every last sanction that we have against Iran, not just for their nuclear program, but for their campaign of aggression and terror throughout the Middle East. This is in direct contradiction to what Secretary Lew said, and in direct contradiction to what Mr. Szubin said. In fact, I would note his testimony before the Banking Committee last summer. ‘Iranian banks will not be able to clear U.S. dollars through New York, hold correspondent account relationships with U.S. financial institutions, or enter into financing arrangements with U.S. banks. In short, Iran will continue to be denied access to the world's principle financial and commercial market.' Further in another quote, ‘Nor will Iran be able to access the U.S. banking sector even for that momentary transaction that we call dollarize a foreign payment.' Yet, Secretary Lew has all but announced that the United States government will allow Iran to dollarize their foreign transactions. In fact, Secretary of State John Kerry just this week is meeting with his foreign counterpart to try to figure out more ways to keep economic benefits on the world's state sponsor of terrorism. So, until President Obama, and Secretary Kerry, and Secretary Lew publicly and conclusively renounce any intent to allow Iran to dollarize and foreign transaction, I will object to this nomination. And if the Senator from Ohio, and 41 other Democrats don't like that they should have considered it before they voted for a deal that gave over $100 billion to the world's worst state sponsor of terrorism. I object."
