Sen. Bob Corker is not backing down from legislation that will require Congress to approve a nuclear deal with Iran.
Corker, a Tennessee Republican and chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said his committee will move forward with the April 14 vote on his bill that requires the House and Senate to approve of the nuclear agreement between Iran, the U.S. and five other international superpowers.
“The president needs to sell this [deal] to the American people,” Corker said on “Fox News Sunday.” “I think the American people want the United States Senate to go through [with] this deal. They understand this is one of the most important geopolitical agreements that will take place during this decade. This is an appropriate place for us to be. If the president feels like this is something that’s good for the nation, surely he can sell this to the United States Senate and the House.”
Corker said the Senate is close to having the 67 votes needed to override a presidential veto. Regardless, he and other lawmakers have questions about the Iran deal and find it necessary for Congress to review it before any next steps — such as the removal of sanctions against Iran — are taken.
“There’s a lot of water that needs to go under the bridge. Many, many details are unknown at this point, so I don’t know if anybody can ascertain if this is something good or bad yet for the American citizenry,” he said.
The framework for the deal was reached on Thursday. President Obama stressed that Congress step aside and not meddle in its passage.
