The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to approve legislation Tuesday that would give Congress a say in any nuclear deal with Iran, after Republicans and Democrats on the panel reached agreement on common language.
As currently written, the legislation by Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Democrat Bob Menendez of New Jersey would require President Obama to submit any deal to Congress for review and would prevent him from waiving U.S. sanctions against Iran during that period. Sanctions could be waived if Congress approves the deal or if it fails to act.
The legislation also contains provisions requiring the president to periodically certify that Iran is keeping to the terms of any agreement and “has not directly supported or carried out an act of terrorism against the United States, or a United States person anywhere in the world.”
President Obama has threatened to veto the bill, with the White House particularly objecting to the demand that it certify that Iran is not engaging in terrorism. White House press secretary Josh Earnest last week called that an “unrealistic suggestion.”
Corker told MSNBC that “we have reached a bipartisan agreement that keeps the congressional review process absolutely intact, full of integrity,” but did not specify what the agreement contained.
A Democratic co-sponsor of the legislation indicated that dropping the terrorism certification requirement and replacing it with a “sense of the Senate” provision was a key requirement for advancing the bill.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., also said he would oppose any attempt to require that Iran recognize Israel’s right to exist in a final agreement as a condition of congressional approval, since it was not part of the negotiations with the P5+1 countries — the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China.
“I am optimistic that this afternoon’s markup by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will move the Corker-Menendez bill in a constructive direction,” Coons said.
When pressed on whether a deal had been reached, Coons said: “It’s the Senate. I could say there’s a deal … but you don’t know until the final votes are cast.”
What to do about U.S. sanctions is at the core of the dispute between the White House and Congress, where most lawmakers remain deeply skeptical that ongoing talks will produce a deal capable of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, in spite of what Obama called a “historic framework” announced April 2. Secretary of State John Kerry, accompanied by Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, came to the Capitol to brief House lawmakers in private on the framework on Monday and was speaking to senators Tuesday.
The legislation by Corker and Menendez emerged from that skepticism as the administration stonewalled Congress about the status of the talks. The bill has 21 co-sponsors, eight of them Democrats, including Menendez and Chuck Schumer of New York, the presumed successor to Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Approval by his panel of a bipartisan compromise could give Corker the veto-proof majority he has sought for the bill.
Coons told reporters that it’s important for lawmakers to preserve the idea that Congress has a right to weigh in on any agreement, and said he hopes White House officials will reconsider their veto threat if the committee approves a bipartisan compromise.
“I am hopeful that after this afternoon’s markup that there will be a reconsideration,” Coons said.
Though he was forced to step down as the committee’s ranking Democrat after being indicted on federal corruption charges, Menendez told Fox News Sunday that he’s “not backing off” his support for the legislation.
“I’m going to work with Chairman Corker to assure that we have a bill,” Menendez said. “This is about having a responsible congressional role.
“If there is a better way to have that certification, than the way it’s written, I’m certainly open to considering it, but what I am not open to considering is delaying and/or not pursuing a vote for the Congress to ultimately have a process, an organized, thoughtful process to review any final deal that may be achieved.”
Obama has been lobbying Democrats hard against the legislation, and said Saturday in a news conference from Panama City that he had spoken both to Corker and Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, who replaced Menendez as ranking Democrat on the panel. The president did not repeat his threat to veto the legislation.
“I want to work with them so that Congress can look at this deal when it’s done,” Obama said. “What I’m concerned about is making sure that we don’t prejudge it, or those who are opposed to any deal whatsoever try to use a procedural argument essentially to screw up the possibility of a deal.”
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters on Monday he would bring up the bill for floor consideration in his chamber if it passes the Senate. He said he expects bipartisan support in “high numbers” for the measure.
