Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., and several other Democrats introduced legislation this month to establish what they say would be a ‘Helsinki-Style’ commission to oversee the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JPCOA), commonly known as the controversial Iranian nuclear deal.
The Helsinki Commission was meant to monitor and encourage the implementation of the Helsinki Final Act, a Cold War measure aimed at thawing relations between the U.S. and Soviet Union in the Nixon-Ford era of “detente.”
While Connolly and most other Democrats support the Iran agreement, they also think a similar commission would help ensure compliance with the agreement aimed at paring back Iran’s nuclear program.
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“There is a common goal of a non-nuclear Iran,” Connolly told the Washington Examiner. “We have supporters and opponents of this deal sponsoring this legislation. Helsinki was a commission that provided lots of support for dissenters and pressure on authoritarian governments.”
“However, we don’t want this to be an excuse for bashing the deal,” he said.
Connolly’s experience in foreign relations includes his work as an aide for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the 1980s. He said a committee based on the model of the U.S. Helsinki Commission would be “an opportunity for Congress to play a constructive, not a divisive role.”
“I will not tolerate Iranian non-compliance, and this commission ensures that the effort to constrain the Iranian nuclear program receives the attention it deserves,” Connolly said on Oct. 9.
Connolly calls himself “a strong supporter” of the administration’s deal, but he was joined in sponsorship of his legislation by a prominent Democrat who opposed it, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) chair Steve Israel, D-N.Y., as well as a Republican opponent of the deal, Rep. Richard Hanna, R-N.Y.
Asked about the Obama administration’s opinion of the bill, Connolly said, “I think that the White House would prefer nothing.”
“But I think any White House would,” he noted, again citing the initial hesitation for Helsinki by the Nixon and Ford administrations. Like the Helsinki Commission, the proposed commission on the Iran nuclear deal would be made up of members of Congress and the executive branch.
Connolly was optimistic about final passage of his proposal, but said he does not have parallel sponsorship yet for a bill in the Senate. And while some interpret the bill as a criticism of the agreement, other supporters of the idea say it may be needed to ensure the complicated agreement is fully implemented.
“As the only Ph.D. physicist in Congress, I have taken very seriously my responsibility to review the technical aspects of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action … it will be imperative that we are able to continuously verify Iran’s compliance,” another co-sponsor, Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill., said in a release. Opponents also saw value in a new oversight body.
Such a commission could have relevance for decades to come. The original Helsinki Commission still exists, though its relevance has waned since “the collapse of Soviet hegemony in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s,” said Connolly, who is not a member.
