Senate bill to give Congress some say in Iran nuke deal
Measure would let lawmakers review final nuclear pact
Nearly unanimous vote gives lawmakers the power to review any nuclear pact and lets the White House continue negotiations .
WASHINGTON — In a rare display of bipartisan accord, the Senate overwhelmingly approved a compromise bill Thursday that would give Congress power to review any nuclear deal with Iran but gives the White House freedom to continue negotiating with Tehran.
The measure, which passed 98-1, is likely to pass the House as early as next week and thus provide an outlet for lawmakers determined to have a say in an emerging deal between six international powers and Iran.
The nearly unanimous Senate vote came after the White House had threatened to veto proposals that would give Congress a more assertive role, or would add fresh demands to the ongoing negotiations. The final bill, which the White House embraced, contained no such requirements.
Given the prolonged controversy, even the bill’s sponsors were surprised when only freshman Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., cast a no vote. Republican presidential candidates Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky all voted in favor of the bill.
Cotton had challenged his party leaders by bringing two amendments to the floor last week that he said would toughen the bill, but that critics said would doom chances of passage and thus cut Congress out of any role.
The lopsided vote Thursday came minutes after the Senate voted 93-6 to cut off debate on the dozens of amendments that Republicans had offered.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Sen. Ben Cardin, DMd., would give Congress “the right to vote for or against any change in the status quo, when it comes to Iran,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, moments after passage.
The White House also portrayed the bill as a victory.
Bernadette Meehan, spokeswoman for the National Security Council, called it “the kind of reasonable and acceptable compromise that the president would be willing to sign.”
Iran is negotiating with the United States and five other world powers — Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia — in an effort to meet a June 30 deadline to produce a comprehensive agreement that would ease economic sanctions on Tehran if it accepts restrictions aimed at preventing it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
The bill that passed the Senate would give Congress at least 30 days to deliberate over any final deal, and sets up a procedure for lawmakers to vote to register their support or disapproval for it.
During that period, the Obama administration will be barred from suspending any congressionally imposed sanctions on Tehran.
It is unclear if critics of a deal with Iran could rally enough congressional support to block an international agreement that the White House has negotiated. Opponents would need 67 senators to override an expected presidential veto.
Some senior Republican lawmakers, and some U.S. allies, say they don’t believe congressional critics are likely to be able to stop a deal.
The measure won backing from many Democratic lawmakers who wanted Congress to have a say on the issue, and decided the measure didn’t represent a serious threat to the nuclear diplomacy as it moves into the end game.
Some Democrats said the measure doesn’t give members of Congress any leverage over the Iran deal that they didn’t already have.
President Barack Obama, who initially opposed congressional involvement as an infringement of his authority to conduct foreign affairs, shifted ground last month and said he could accept it.