GOP senator: Obama must bring Iran nuclear deal to Congress

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) on Thursday said he is moving forward with legislation that would allow Congress to weigh in on the emerging nuclear deal with Iran.

“There is growing bipartisan support for congressional review of the nuclear deal, and I am confident of a strong vote on the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee takes it up on April 14,” Corker said in a statement Thursday after the outline of a nuclear deal was released.

Corker warned the White House not to bypass Congress by taking the deal straight to the United Nations.

{mosads}”Rather than bypass Congress and head straight to the U.N. Security Council as planned, the administration first should seek the input of the American people,” he said.

Corker has scheduled a vote on his bill for when Congress returns from recess in two weeks.

President Obama has threatened to veto the legislation if it passes before the Iran talks are scheduled to conclude on June 30.

The legislation, which Corker co-authored with Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), would mandate the president to submit the nuclear agreement to Congress, prohibit him from lifting or not enforcing congressional sanctions for 60 days, and require him to submit reports on Iran’s compliance with any deal at least every 90 days.

“If a final agreement is reached, the American people, through their elected representatives, must have the opportunity to weigh in to ensure the deal truly can eliminate the threat of Iran’s nuclear program and hold the regime accountable,” Corker said.

Menendez, who has stepped down as the ranking member of Corker’s panel as he deals with corruption charges, echoed those remarks.

“In the coming days, this preliminary understanding will receive close scrutiny, and for that reason, Congress must fulfill its oversight responsibilities,” he said. “That begins with taking up on April 14 in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015.”

He added that Congress was “entitled to a review period” of an agreement that would “fundamentally alter our relations with the Iran and the sanctions imposed by Congress.”

The United States and other world powers on Thursday reached an outline of a nuclear deal with Iran that would lift sanctions in exchange for new limitations on its nuclear program and the creation of a new inspection regime.

Obama hailed the framework as “historic” in a statement from the Rose Garden and warned Congress not to interfere.

“If Congress kills this deal … then it’s the United States that will be blamed for the failure of diplomacy,” Obama said Thursday.

The deal outlines parameters including the number of installed centrifuges Iran would be allowed to have, how many of them would be allowed to enrich uranium, and limits on that enrichment, what access inspectors will have to enrichment facilities, and the pace of sanctions relief.  

Corker said Congress should wait to see “specific details” of the framework agreement before passing judgment.

“We must remain clear-eyed regarding Iran’s continued resistance to concessions, long history of covert nuclear weapons-related activities, support of terrorism, and its current role in destabilizing the region,” he added.

Under the framework, negotiations on a final deal will continue through June 30.