CNN Poll: "Majority Wants Congress To Reject Iran Deal"

Today in Washington, D.C. - July 28, 2015:
The House reconvened at 10 AM today. Bills which may be considered:
H.R. 427 "To amend chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, to provide that major rules of the executive branch shall have no force or effect unless a joint resolution of approval is enacted into law; providing for proceedings during the period from July 30, 2015, through September 7, 2015; and for other purposes."
H.R. 675 — "To increase, effective as of December 1, 2015, the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans, and for other purposes."
H.R. 427 — "To amend chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, to provide that major rules of the executive branch shall have no force or effect unless a joint resolution of approval is enacted into law."

Yesterday the House passed:
H.J. Res. 61 (Voice Vote) — "Amending the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exempt employees with health coverage under TRICARE or the Veterans Administration from being taken into account for purposes of determining the employers to which the employer mandate applies under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act."
H.R. 1138 (Voice Vote) — "To establish certain wilderness areas in central Idaho and to authorize various land conveyances involving National Forest System land and Bureau of Land Management land in central Idaho, and for other purposes."
H.R. 1607 (Voice Vote) — "To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the disability compensation evaluation procedure of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for veterans with mental health conditions related to military sexual trauma, and for other purposes."
H.R. 1634 (Voice Vote) — "To strengthen accountability for deployment of border security technology at the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes."
H.R. 1656 (365-16) — "To provide for additional resources for the Secret Service, and to improve protections for restricted areas."
H.R. 1831 (Voice Vote) — "To establish the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking, and for other purposes."
H.R. 2127 (Voice Vote) — "To direct the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration to limit access to expedited airport security screening at an airport security checkpoint to participants of the PreCheck program and other known low-risk passengers, and for other purposes."
H.R. 2206 (Voice Vote) — "To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require recipients of State Homeland Security Grant Program funding to preserve and strengthen interoperable emergency communications capabilities, and for other purposes."
H.R. 2750 (Voice Vote) — "To reform programs of the Transportation Security Administration, streamline transportation security regulations, and for other purposes."
H.R. 2843 (Voice Vote) — "To require certain improvements in the Transportation Security Administration's PreCheck expedited screening program, and for other purposes."
H.R. 774 (Voice Vote) — "To strengthen enforcement mechanisms to stop illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, to amend the Tuna Conventions Act of 1950 to implement the Antigua Convention, and for other purposes."
H.R. 998 (Voice Vote) — "To establish the conditions under which the Secretary of Homeland Security may establish preclearance facilities, conduct preclearance operations, and provide customs services outside the United States, and for other purposes.
H.R. 2770 (380-0) — "To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require certain maintenance of security-related technology at airports, and for other purposes."
S. 1482 (378 0) — "To improve and reauthorize provisions relating to the application of the antitrust laws to the award of need-based educational aid."

The Senate reconvened at 11 AM today and resumed consideration of H.R. 22, the vehicle for the highway bill.

Last night, the Senate voted 64-29 to adopt the amendment from Mark Kirk (R-IL) reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank. Following that vote, the Senate voted 62-32 to invoke cloture on (i.e. to end debate after an additional 30 hours and move towards an up-or-down vote) on the substitute amendment containing the negotiated text of the 3 year paid-for highway bill

Americans for Limited Government board member Bill Wilson today issued the following statement joining 18 House Republicans who in a letter urged the House Judiciary Committee to commence hearings on H.R. 1995, "The Local Zoning and Property Rights Protection Act of 2015," which would prohibit the Department of Housing and Urban Development from implementing a rule, "Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing":"The radical HUD plan to condition federal funding on rezoning neighborhoods to achieve a subjective and punitive set of quotas is a utopian pipe dream, and a federal attempt to usurp local zoning authority. We urge the House Judiciary Committee to take up H.R. 1995, and to require political partisans at HUD to justify this raw power grab. This has nothing to do with individual cases of housing discrimination, which have been illegal for over 40 years. Like the IRS abuse of power targeting people who disagree with them, the Obama appointees are using the power of government to harm communities that do not vote or act as Obama and his allies think they should. It is social engineering, nothing more."In the News:
CNN writes today, “A majority of Americans want Congress to reject the recently-negotiated nuclear deal with Iran, even as President Barack Obama's approval rating continues to stand in net-positive territory for the second month in a row, according to a new CNN/ORC poll. . . . [O]n the President's biggest accomplishment since [2013] -- the nuclear agreement reached between the U.S., its allies and Iran -- most say they would like to see Congress reject it. Overall, 52% say Congress should reject the deal, 44% say it should be approved.

“Some opposition to the deal may be fueled by skepticism. A CNN/ORC poll in late June, conducted as the deal was being worked out, found that nearly two-thirds of adults thought it was unlikely the negotiations would result in an agreement that would prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.”

That’s hardly surprising given Iran’s long record of hostile and deceptive behavior, let alone the angry statements that come from leaders in Tehran.

A Reuters report indicates that the Saudis and other countries in the Middle East continue to see this behavior up close. “Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on Monday accused Iran of making threats against Riyadh's ally, Bahrain, which he said showed that the Islamic republic was harboring hostile designs against its Middle Eastern neighbors.

“Speaking at a joint news conference with visiting European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, Jubeir said Saudi Arabia had raised the issue with her. He said the comments showed that Tehran was intervening in its neighbors' internal affairs. ‘It does not represent the desire of a state for good neighborly relations but that of a state which has aspirations in the region and which carried out hostile act like this,’ he added.

“Jubeir did not clarify who made the comments or when, but he said they could be linked to the terms of the agreement with world powers on its nuclear program or to setbacks suffered by Iran's Houthi allies in Yemen and President Bashar al-Assad's forces in Syria. ‘I don't know, but we reject their comments and reject the hostility they show towards the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the countries of the region,’ he said.

“Bahrain on Saturday said it had foiled an arms smuggling plot by two Bahrainis with ties to Iran and recalled its ambassador to Tehran for consultations after what it said were repeated hostile Iranian statements.”

Meanwhile, the AP reports, “Iran wants its own officials to take soil samples at a site where it is alleged to have experimented with ways to detonate a nuclear weapon, and the U.N. agency probing the suspicions may agree provided it is allowed to monitor the process, two officials told The Associated Press Tuesday.

“The investigation by the International Atomic Energy Agency is part of the overarching nuclear deal reached earlier this month between Iran and six world powers. Iran denies any such work but has agreed to give the IAEA access to the Parchin military complex.

“Several U.S. senators cited Obama administration officials last week as saying Iran could conduct its own soil sampling at Parchin. . . .

“David Albright, whose Institute for Science and International Security is often consulted by the U.S. government on proliferation issues, said the IAEA ‘could instruct Iran in where and how to take the sample, as they would an inspector. They could try to keep a close watch on how Iran follows the instructions.’

“At the same time, ‘the IAEA could not exclude Iran tampering with the sample in some way,’ he said.

“Iran has refused to give IAEA experts access to people, documents and sites allegedly linked to the suspected weapons work for nearly a decade. But in its quest for the end to nuclear-related sanctions, it agreed earlier this month to work with the agency, and IAEA chief Yukiya Amano has said he expects to be able to deliver a report by December. . . .

“U.S. lawmakers skeptical of the deal see the matter of whether the U.N. agency will receive full cooperation from Iran as a core issue. Congress began a 60-day review of the accord last week.

“The suspected explosives testing at Parchin, south of Tehran, is only one of 11 alleged cases of nuclear weapons-related work listed by the IAEA, based on U.S., Israeli and other intelligence and its own research.

“Tehran insists Parchin is a conventional military area with no link to nuclear tests. In recent years, it has carried out major construction and paving at the site where the alleged experiments took place, while refusing dozens of IAEA requests for a visit.”

Little wonder, then, that Americans are skeptical of Iran living up to an agreement and aren’t persuaded on the deal the Obama administration has made.

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