McConnell: Congress & The American People Must Have Their Say In Any Iran Deal

Editorial Cartoon by AF "Tony " Branco

Today in Washington, D.C. - April 28, 2015
Today, U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments about gay marriage. Dr. Ryan T Anderson of the Heritage Foundation noted today, "Here’s the bottom line: Whatever people may think about marriage as a policy matter, everyone should be able to recognize the U.S. Constitution does not settle this question. Unelected judges shouldn't insert their own policy preferences about marriage and then say the Constitution requires them everywhere. There simply is nothing in the Constitution that requires all 50 states to redefine marriage."

Yesterday, Vice President Joe Biden swore in Loretta Lynch as the 83rd U.S. attorney general, the first African-American woman to serve as the nation's top law enforcement official.

The House will reconvene at Noon today. No House actions were taken yesterday. Today, several "naming" bills for building and government facilities well be completed.

The Senate reconvened at 10 AM today and resumed consideration of H.R. 1191, the vehicle for the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015. Yesterday, the Senate voted 87-0 to confirm Dava Newman to be deputy administrator of NASA.

This week, the Senate will debate the bipartisan Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act.

This morning, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced the debate: “This is an important debate for our country. At its heart, it turns on a central proposition: do the American people, through the Members of Congress they elect, deserve a say in one of the most important issues of our time? For a long time, the answer from the White House seemed to be ‘no.’ We've since seen a softening of that hard line.

“But it doesn't mean the fight for this bipartisan legislation has been won. I still expect to see vigorous debate this week. I still expect to see a robust amendment process. And then, at the end of the day, the American people are right to expect their Senators — regardless of party — to stand up for them by supporting a bill that’s as sensible as it is bipartisan.”

“Preventing the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism from gaining access to nuclear weapons should be the goal of all Senators, no matter what party they belong to. The price of a bad agreement with Iran could be catastrophic. Iran’s nuclear program is only one aspect of its efforts to confront the West across the full spectrum of warfare: through public diplomacy, through its support for terrorism and proxies, through its missile capabilities, and through a modernization of its conventional forces. Any sanctions relief from a nuclear agreement would give Iran more funds to conduct these and other activities; so Congress must have a say.

“Let’s not forget: the American people were led to believe that the point of the White House’s negotiations with Iran were to end Iran’s nuclear program, and to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons. Congress and the American people were not told that this would be an exercise in granting Iran international permission to become a ‘nuclear threshold’ state, just steps away from a nuclear weapon. If that truly is how things have developed since, then the members of this body and the people we represent need to be heard.

“The American people, through the representatives they elect, have a right to review, analyze, and pass their judgement on any agreement reached — to ensure Americans are getting the kind of agreement they actually deserve.”

Politico describes some of the amendments being offered to the bill this week. “Presidential hopeful Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is leading the charge with seven amendment offerings, including the proposal requiring Iran recognize Israel, another that would force Iran to release prisoners including a Washington Post reporter and one that would keep all economic sanctions in place unrelated to nuclear activity. Another GOP senator seeking the White House, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, is pitching an amendment that would require congressional approval of any Iran deal, a reversal of the current bill that would allow Congress to disapprove the lifting of legislative sanctions . . . .

“GOP Sens. Cory Gardner of Colorado and Tom Cotton of Arkansas have a proposal that would require the administration to certify that Iran and North Korea aren't exchanging ballistics information, while Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) wants the Obama administration to confirm that Iran isn't making any headway on its missile program. And Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is seeking to treat the nuclear agreement like a treaty, thus requiring the OK from 67 senators to be put into effect.”

The Hill adds, “Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) on Monday became the latest Republican to request changes to legislation allowing Congress to weigh in on a nuclear deal with Iran . . . . The Missouri Republican introduced four amendments, including one that would tie implementation of an agreement to the release of Americans currently being held in Iran. Another would order the Obama administration to give an assessment on what, if any, cooperation there is between Iran and North Korea on their nuclear programs. . . . Blunt also introduced an amendment that would force the administration to clarify its policy on Iran's underground facility at Fordow, and an amendment that requires the Defense Department to continue submitting an annual report on Iran's military power through December, 2026.”

Of course, The Hill notes the Obama administration is already complaining about senators amending the bill. “Wendy Sherman, under secretary of State for political affairs, said Monday while the administration is ‘working very hard’ with lawmakers, she added that there are ‘a lot of pretty awful amendments.’ ‘We’re working very hard with Congress,’ she said at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism Biennial Leadership Policy Conference. ‘This legislation will be on the floor of the Senate this week. There will be a lot of pretty awful amendments, quite frankly, and we’ll see where we end up.’”

But the White House objected to Congress weighing in on Iran policy before, and the result was strong bipartisan sanctions legislation that helped force Iran to the negotiating table.

As Leader McConnell said, “In short, the point of this bill is to give the elected representatives of the American people the tools to assess any agreement reached by the administration before congressional sanctions are lifted.

“Those crippling sanctions — which include bipartisan sanctions authored by Senator Kirk that passed 100 to 0, over White House objections — are one of the most important reasons we even got Iran to the table in the first place. So the United States should not give up that leverage now if it means bringing home an agreement that does not meet American national security interests, or one that simply passes on dealing with the Iranian nuclear program to a subsequent administration.

“The point of these negotiations should be to secure an agreement strong enough on its own merits to pass muster with Congress and the American people. Congress had the correct judgement to impose bipartisan sanctions over White House objections a few years back. Congress would now have the correct judgement to insist that its members, and the Americans each of us represent, are considered in this critically important conversation.

“Passing the bipartisan Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act is key to ensuring that happens.”

---

Tags: Loretta Lynch confirmed, Attorney General, Senate, American peopel, Iran Deal, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!