The House came close to passing legislation that would block President Obama from some of the sanctions on Iran that are due to be lifted as part of the recently approved nuclear agreement, but then decided to try again later in January to ensure all members get a vote.
The bill initially passed 191-106, mostly along party lines, but the quick vote surprised more than 130 members of the House who didn’t make it to the floor on time before the vote was closed down after the usual 15 minutes. With so many members missing the vote, Republicans and Democrats agreed to vacate the vote, and a new vote is expected on Jan. 26.
There were suggestions on Twitter that the vote was quickly closed down as part of House Speaker Paul Ryan’s effort to ensure votes happen on time, and aren’t dragged out beyond the usual voting times.
Despite the setback, the vote is a still sign that the legislation will ultimately pass the House later this month. Republicans were clearly backing the bill, which served as a rebuke of the Iranian government.
The GOP says Iran has violated U.N. sanctions banning missile testing, and has remained the chief state sponsor of terrorism in the region. The Obama administration, however, has delayed its decision to impose sanctions on Iran, citing technical issues, while Republicans say the White House is trying to avoid Iranian criticism.
The vote also took place just hours after Iran released ten U.S. sailors it captured on Tuesday, after Iran said two naval vessels strayed into Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf. Wednesday morning, the Iranian government produced images of the U.S. sailors on their knees with their hands clasped behind their heads.
Still, the bill gave the GOP an unexpected shot at criticizing President Obama’s foreign policy, which Republican lawmakers called “wobbly” and “weak.”
“We are all relieved to learn this morning the sailors have been released,” said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif. “Yet in what could be a matter of days, Iran will cash in with more than $100 million plus in sanctions relief. If Iran behaves this way now, in a few days when it gets its hands on this bankroll, what other action are we going to see from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps?”
The House on Tuesday passed a bill with bipartisan support to sanction North Korea for conducting nuclear missile testing, which Republicans blame in part on Obama’s lack of attention to the regime’s growing nuclear threat.
Obama touted U.S. strength on the foreign stage during Union address Tuesday night, which GOP lawmakers said produced audible gasps in the chamber.
“I think it’s an admission from us all to recognize that there is a wobbliness in this administration,” said Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill. “How many provocations are the Iranians able to move forward without a response from the administration?”
The Iran bill would require the president to certify that entities removed from the sanctions list have never participated in terrorist or other banned activity. Republicans say the bill merely holds Obama to his pledge under the nuclear agreement that he would maintain sanctions against Iran over its terrorist and missile-building activities.
“It’s upholding the law,” said Rep. Steve Russell, R-Okla., a chief sponsor of the bill.
Democrats said they opposed the bill because it would renege on the nuclear agreement that Congress failed to block earlier this year. Democrats said they also want to sanction Iran over its terrorism and missile testing, and plan to introduce legislation they hope can win bipartisan support.
The GOP bill, they said, would make it impossible for Obama to remove any entities from the sanctions list and would never get signed into law.
“We are not interested in embarrassing the president,” Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y. said. “Certainly not on this side of the aisle.”
This story was updated at 12:15 p.m.
