Press Releases

Congressman Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (Ga-01) continued his work to prevent the Obama Administration from moving forward with a nuclear agreement with Iran by voting to strip the President of his ability to lift economic sanctions on the terrorist regime.  Ending economic sanctions against Iran would release $150 billion in Iranian assets currently frozen abroad and generate additional economic activity in the country.

“We all know this massive payout won’t be spent on schools, hospitals or the needs of Iranian people,” Carter said. “The reality is that billions of dollars will be spent on new weapons, cracking down on pro-democracy activists inside Iran, and continuing to spread terrorism around the world. These longstanding sanctions helped bring Iran to its knees and now the President is eager take off the pressure.  Eliminating these sanctions is paving the way for Iran to threaten the safety of Americans and our allies around the world like Israel. This deal hands a hostile regime a huge win while putting American families in danger. I refuse to stand idly as we allow Iran to obtain tools to terrorize our homeland and the world.”

Under the Agreement, Iran will have access to $100 billion to $150 billion in hard currency, mainly oil sales proceeds, which it has been unable to repatriate to its Central Bank. Banks around the world, particularly those in South Korea and Japan holding the funds, have been cooperating with U.S. sanctions by refusing to transfer those assets to Iran. Economists estimate that Iran’s economy will grow from 2% to as much as 9% in the first year after sanctions are lifted.