In March, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham threatened to withhold U.S. funding to the United Nations to stop the Iran nuclear deal if the Obama administration bypassed Congress.
In July, the Obama administration did just that — arrogantly bypassing Congress and voting the deal through the U.N. Security Council with almost lightning speed days after it was announced by negotiators.
Secretary of State John Kerry stated that the U.N. had a right to vote on the Iran deal before it was reviewed by Congress and that to suggest otherwise would be “presumptuous.”
The U.N. vote is yet another example of the Obama administration — which has rewritten and changed immigration and healthcare laws on its own — blatantly disregarding Congress, the elected representatives of the American people.
The U.N. vote undermines the critically important separation of powers principle our government was founded upon. And it was a slap in the face to American taxpayers, who pay 22 percent of the U.N.’s annual budget.
What’s more, the nuclear deal is looking worse by the day. Soon after the deal was signed, it became clear that up to $150 billion in sanctions relief could come at once — not incrementally — and that in several years the weapons ban on Iran would be lifted.
When Congress votes on the deal in September, opponents may come up short of the two-thirds veto-proof majority necessary to stop it. While they vote on the deal, Republican leaders should also seek to move a second resolution titled, “Terms for Renegotiating the Iranian Nuclear Deal.”
This resolution should stipulate that certain conditions be met before the administration can gain support for the deal. The conditions should include: The complete abandonment of Iran’s nuclear program; anytime anywhere inspections of its nuclear facilities; maintaining of the arms embargo; incremental and extremely limited sanctions relief; Iranian recognition of Israel’s right to exist and its renouncement of support for Hezbollah, Hamas and the Assad regime; and the freeing of the American hostages in Iran. The resolution could further state that Congress plans to increase sanctions to the maximum extent possible unless these conditions are met.
Democratic members of Congress would have to vote on whether or not they support attempting to get Iran to free American hostages and renounce terrorism.
Congress could then try to block U.N. implementation of the deal by withholding funding to the U.N. until a new deal is reached that meets the conditions outlined in the resolution or the current deal is simply abandoned altogether.
If Congress succeeds in gaining a veto-proof two-thirds majority to defeat the deal, the option of withholding U.N. funding will have much greater power behind it.
If President Obama brings Congress into a budget showdown over U.N. funding to save his cherished deal, Congress could appropriate funds for select U.N. programs in danger of drying up — such as caring for refugees and food aid.
The correct policy on Iran should have been a clear, unwavering U.S. commitment to bring about regime change through a “peace through strength” approach. This could have been achieved through further crippling the Iranian government with increased sanctions, lobbying other nations to stop trade with the regime and engaging the resistance to Iran’s radical leaders.
Bold moves by Congress could save the world from this disastrous deal and put us back towards a winning “peace through strength” strategy.
George Phillips served as an aide to Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey, working on human rights issues. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions.
