Editorial Boards Express Deep Skepticism Of Iran Deal

Editorial Cartoon by AF "Tony" Branco

Today in Washington, D.C. - July 15, 2015
The House reconvened at 10 AM today.

They may consider the following bills today:
H.R. 2898 - To provide drought relief in the State of California, and for other purposes
H.R. 3038 - To provide an extension of Federal-aid highway, highway safety, motor carrier safety, transit, and other programs funded out of the Highway Trust Fund, and for other purposes.
S. 984 — "To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide Medicare beneficiary access to eye tracking accessories for speech generating devices and to remove the rental cap for durable medical equipment under the Medicare Program with respect to speech generating devices."
S. 971 — "To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for an increase in the limit on the length of an agreement under the Medicare independence at home medical practice demonstration program."

Yesterday the House passed the following bills:
H.R. 1047 (Voice Vote) — "To authorize private nonprofit organizations to administer permanent housing rental assistance provided through the Continuum of Care Program under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, and for other purposes."
H.R. 1334 (Voice Vote) — "To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to make the shareholder threshold for registration of savings and loan holding companies the same as for bank holding companies."
H.R. 1408 (Voice Vote) — "To require certain Federal banking agencies to conduct a study of the appropriate capital requirements for mortgage servicing assets for nonsystemic banking institutions, and for other purposes."
H.R. 1723 (426-0) — "To direct the Securities and Exchange Commission to revise Form S-1 so as to permit smaller reporting companies to use forward incorporation by reference for such form."
H.R. 1847 (Voice Vote) — "To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Commodity Exchange Act to repeal the indemnification requirements for regulatory authorities to obtain access to swap data required to be provided by swaps entities under such Acts."
H.R. 2064 (Voice Vote) — "To amend certain provisions of the securities laws relating to the treatment of emerging growth companies."
H.R. 2482 (Voice Vote) — "To amend the Low-Income Housing Preservation and Resident Homeownership Act of 1990."
H.R. 251 (412-1) — "To transfer the position of Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs in the Department of Housing and Urban Development to the Office of the Secretary, and for other purposes."
H.R. 2997 (395-28) — "To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to carry out a demonstration program to enter into budget-neutral, performance-based contracts for energy and water conservation improvements for multifamily residential units."
H.R. 432 (Voice Vote> — "To amend the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to prevent duplicative regulation of advisers of small business investment companies."

The Senate reconvened at 9:30 AM today and resumed consideration of S. 1177, the Every Child Achieves Act of 2015.

Around noon, by unanimous consent, the Senate agreed to a package of 21 amendments to the bill. The Senate then voted 86-12 to invoke cloture on the Alexander substitute amendment to S. 1177. Votes on up to 24 more amendments are expected over the next two days. Amendment votes could begin at 2:30 this afternoon.

Yesterday, the Senate voted on 5 amendments to the bill and agreed to 3 more by voice vote. Senators agreed to amendments from Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) by votes of 56-40 and 97-0. Senators rejected amendments from Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Al Franken (D-MN), by votes of 45-51, 32-64, and 52-45, respectively.

No (Nada, None) Democrats voted for Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) amendment for School Choice: "To expand opportunity by allowing Title I funds to follow low-income children. Unfortunately, six Republicans voted no for school choice: Blunt (R-MO) - which was a real shock, Capito (R-WV), Collins (R-ME), Fischer (R-NE), Kirk (R-IL), Moran (R-KS). Republicans Graham (R-SC) and Rubio (R-FL) did not vote on this bill. This editor, appreciated Sen. Scott offering this pro- student and parents school choice amendment.

Also yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 22, the vehicle to be used for an extension of the highway trust fund.

More News On Obama/Kerry Iran Nuclear Deal
As Americans begin scrutinizing the agreement with Iran that President Obama announced yesterday, skepticism is widespread. Newspaper editorial boards in particular seem troubled by the deal.

The Wall Street Journal warns, “The agreement all but guarantees that Tehran will eventually become a nuclear power, while limiting the ability of a future President to prevent it. . . . All of this means that the deal leaves Tehran as a nuclear-threshold state even if it adheres to the terms, able to continue its nuclear research and retain its facilities while it waits for U.N. supervision to end. The other nations of the region will take that point, no matter Mr. Obama’s assurances. Instead of eliminating a revolutionary regime’s nuclear ambitions, the Vienna accord promises to usher in a new age of nuclear proliferation.”

The Oklahoman writes, “Obama said the agreement ‘is not built on trust, it is built on verification’ and that the international community will have ‘24/7 access’ to Iran’s nuclear facilities. Sounds encouraging. Yet the agreement says that as part of their monitoring duties, U.N. inspectors will be able to press for visits to military sites in Iran. That access isn’t guaranteed. Instead, Tehran will be allowed to challenge the requests and take them to an international arbitration board to decide. This means access would surely be delayed and could be denied.”

The Oklahoman editors continue, “In a conference call with reporters, a senior administration official said the agreement ‘is not perfect for anyone, but we believe it will be durable … we’re confident with the elements of this deal.’ Contrast that with a public opinion poll conducted by Monmouth University in the days prior to the agreement being reached. Fifty-five percent of Americans said they did ‘not at all’ trust Iran to abide by the terms of a deal. Unlike Obama, many Americans fear this deal will one day blow up — literally and figuratively. That’s a belief rooted not in pessimism, but in Iran’s record of being an outlier in its own region and the world community. What’s changed?”

The Washington Post, which seems supportive of the president, worries, “If the transformation of Iranian behavior the president hopes for does not occur, the deal on its nuclear program may ultimately prove to be a poor one — a temporary curb that, when it lapses, will enable a dangerous threshold nuclear state that poses a major threat to the United States and its allies.” And, The Post points out, “Its most immediate effect will be to provide Tehran with up to $150 billion in fresh assets from sanctions relief over the next year, funds that its leaders will probably use to revive the domestic economy but also to finance wars and terrorist groups in Iraq, Syria, the Gaza Strip, Yemen and elsewhere.” Further, The Post editors write, “[O]ne effect of the deal may be an increase in the sectarian bloodshed wracking the region, as well as the conventional threat to Israel. When embargoes on arms and missile sales to Iran expire in five and eight years, that threat could further escalate, and Tehran could seek missiles capable of striking U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf or reaching the U.S. homeland.”

The New Hampshire Union Leader blasts this outcome. “The deal allows Iran to grow wealthier and stronger while maintaining a robust nuclear program that will be inspected on Iran’s terms. We did not get an end to the program, a dismantling of Iran’s most secure facility, a pledge not to arm terrorists or America’s enemies, or even the release of American prisoners currently being held by the regime. What we got were vague assurances that Iran will be nice to us in the future. This President Obama considers a major diplomatic victory. It is becoming harder to tell who is less in touch with reality, Iran’s mullahs or America’s President.”

The New York Daily News is even more blunt: “With the blessing of President Obama, the world's most virulent radical Islamist regime verges on official entry into the globe's limited club of nuclear states. Welcome to a horrifying nightmare. Obama's deal with Iran accepts the terror-exporting, anti-American, anti-Semitic, anti-Israel mullahs as leaders of a threshold nuke power, meaning in command of an atomic program that could readily produce bombs. And that could destroy Israel with the push of a button. Even short of a nuclear holocaust, the button itself would give Iran's fanatical leaders the power to wreak still more conventional havoc.” The Daily News continues, “The President's major accomplishment was crimping Iran's weapons-making capacity so that, he says, the mullahs would need a year to build a nuclear weapon, rather than just three months. Thus the commander in chief who once vowed to dismantle Iran's program slowed the mullahs by, at best, a full nine months.”

In the Middle East, where all of this is less abstract, American allies are deeply concerned, according to The New York Times. Some “expressed fears that the United States was pursuing a broader rapprochement with Tehran that would empower Iran.

“The suspicion was especially strong in Saudi Arabia and other gulf states, where the United States has been seen as the ultimate protector and where Iran is viewed as driving much of the region’s violence. Saudi officials often make their case by citing Iran’s support for President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shiite militias in Iraq and Houthi rebels in Yemen.

“‘Iran is an aggressor,’ said Jamal Khashoggi, a veteran Saudi journalist who has advised government officials. ‘It has ambitions and plans that it is implementing in the region, and it is using force, not diplomacy.’ His fear, shared by many of Iran’s opponents, was that sanctions relief would give Iran greater resources to finance its militant proxies. ‘Iran under sanctions was a pain in the neck for the Saudis, and it will be more of a pain in the neck without sanctions,’ he said. . . .

“Iran has long branded itself as the lodestar of the ‘resistance’ against the United States and Israel. Apart from Shiite groups, it has supported Sunni Palestinian movements, including Hamas, which the United States also considers a terrorist group.”

Indeed, the NYT notes, ‘Regardless of there being an agreement or not, Iran will continue to be a malign influence across the region,’ Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., nominee to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a Senate confirmation hearing last week.”

And that is precisely why so many aspects of this agreement are so concerning.

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