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Dear Friends,
Iran poses a significant threat to U.S. national security interests both home and abroad. I believe that Iran is the greatest threat to security and peace to Israel and the entire Middle East.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly referred to as the "nuclear agreement," was a bad deal for the American people that puts our safety and security at risk, especially our nation’s allies such as Israel.
This deal has not resulted in a more modern Iran, but instead we’ve seen increased aggression with ballistic missile tests, provocations against the U.S. Navy in the Strait of Hormuz, and increased involvement in the wars in Iraq and Syria. The nuclear agreement also has major flaws, including sunset provisions that should have never been included, zero monitoring of Iranian military sites, continued Iranian research on advanced centrifuges, and not addressing Iran's delivery system technologies.
I believe that without decertification, this deal allows Iran to head in the same direction as North Korea, and it is now up to Congress to decide if new sanctions against Iran’s nuclear program are warranted. I support the President’s decision announced Friday to decertify the Iran Nuclear Deal, and I will continue to support policies that target Iran’s terrorist financing, its missile technology, its violations of human rights, and its nuclear program. Our nation and allies are safer when Iran is not armed with deadly nuclear weapons.
This past week, we also took action in the House Financial Services Committee to impose stronger sanctions on North Korea. We passed legislation out of committee with a strong bipartisan vote that would incentivize stricter sanction enforcement by foreign countries, and require regular reports on sanctions implementation from the Department of the Treasury. It also imposes economic restrictions on a number of North Korean and Chinese banks and trading corporations and individuals associated with those entities and gives the International Monetary Fund the ability to use its budget to assist member states with their capacity to prevent money laundering and terrorism finance.
This legislation comes at an important time as we are taking significant actions against the North Korean regime. This bill adds to the actions the adminstration and Congress have already taken to reign in this rogue nation. Click HERE to listen to my remarks.
After passing both the House and Senate with bipartisan support, Speaker Paul Ryan signed my common sense bill, the Fair Access to Investment Research Act, which helps remove barriers to Investment research for Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs).
I witnessed the explosive growth in the exchange-traded funds (ETF) industry and the lack of available research caused by outdated securities law during my three decades the financial industry. My bill that the President just signed into law, clarifies current law to allow broker-dealers to publish ETF research and allows investors’ access to useful information in this rapidly growing market.
Thank you for taking time to read my updates every week, and as always, please reach out to my office if I can ever be of any assistance to you.
Sincerely,
Representative French Hill |
What a great group of Air Force cadets from Arkansas! On a snowy day in Colorado, they hosted me for lunch at the United States Air Force Academy where I was able to talk with them about their Air Force career ambitions and what motivated them to serve our great nation. I also visited our Command and Control Center at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station operated by the United States Air Force, which originally was the site of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Today, the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station supports NORAD and U.S. space command in monitoring all threats to our homeland and vital U.S. interests around the globe.
In Colorado Springs, I met the management team of Mt. Carmel Center for Excellence. As a veteran, founder Bob McLaughlin understands the challenges service members face. He and his team, including Cheryl Christie, have worked hard to create a center that provides assistance with workforce training, job placement, paid internships, mental health services, and housing. They shared their vision to increase the number of veterans they serve and their model for success that others can mirror in their communities. I came away with new ideas for veteran outreach in Central Arkansas.
One of Arkansas's leading public companies is Acxiom. With key offices in Little Rock and Conway, Acxiom is a technology power house for consumer data. It was a pleasure spending time with some of their leaders from Arkansas and across the nation.
I was so glad to see my friend Matt Mika of Tyson's. He has been in my prayers since the horrific shooting incident in June on the baseball field. He is healing up well, and is an inspiration to me and our country with his unwavering faith and spiritual example. God has truly blessed us with the healing of Matt, Congressman Steve Scalise, Congressman Roger Williams' Staffer Zach Barth, and the brave, extraordinary Capitol Police Officers Crystal Griner and David Bailey.
Thank you to all who joined me on Thursday night's Telephone Town Hall. I appreciated the excellent questions – including on firearms regulation, health insurance, and tax reform. If I can help you with any issues such as vets benefits, disability insurance, or social security, please contact my office at (501) 324-5941.
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