President Obama on Friday agreed to submit any nuclear deal with Iran to Congress for review, signing legislation he had once threatened to veto after it cleared with overwhelming bipartisan majorities in both chambers.
The bill would give Congress 30 days to review a deal and decide whether to vote on a resolution of disapproval. If one is adopted, the bill allows another 22-day period during which Obama can veto the resolution and Congress could try to override his veto.
During that period, Obama may not waive any sanctions written into U.S. law. But if the disapproval resolution is not adopted over his expected veto, that restriction is lifted, clearing the way for an agreement to be implemented.
Support for the Iran bill emerged out of mistrust of the president’s negotiating strategy, with many lawmakers worried that Obama was conceding too much to the point where any deal would delay, but not prevent, Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. A bipartisan compromise negotiated by leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and approved unanimously by that panel passed the Senate by a 98-1 vote on May 7 and the House by 400-25 on May 14.
All the “no” votes came from conservative Republicans who considered the compromise too weak, saying it’s unlikely to block any deal from being implemented as long as Democrats are willing to back the president.
But a congressional vote will highlight just how much concern there is in Congress about the outlines of a potential agreement. Republicans are skeptical of the framework released April 2, and if that feeling holds, majorities in both chambers will vote to reject a deal.
“With the role of Congress now guaranteed, the administration must address the many significant concerns raised by Congress, and our negotiators should take advantage of the added leverage to force further concessions from the Iranians so that any agreement reached is verifiable, enforceable and can assure the American people Iran will not be able to develop a nuclear weapon,” said Foreign Relations Chairman Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn.
Obama fought the legislation for months, arguing that any deal with Iran would be an executive agreement not subject to congressional review because it fell within his constitutional authority to direct U.S. foreign policy. Further, the White House had planned to use existing authority written into law to waive U.S. sanctions as part of a deal without asking Congress to repeal them.
The signature was among five bills Obama signed into law on Friday before the long Memorial Day weekend, a time when announcements typically receive minimum publicity. Two of the new laws renamed federal facilities and another excludes taxes on compensation when a public safety officer dies or becomes disabled in the line of duty.
