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Iran nuclear agreement: Congressional review

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Iran nuclear agreement
For more on the Iran nuclear deal, view the following articles:
•Overview
•Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)
•Negotiations
•Timeline
•Legislation
•Congressional review
•U.S.-Israeli relations
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•Federal policy on the Iran nuclear deal, 2017-2020
•Federal policy on Iran, 2017-2020
•2016 presidential candidates on the Iran nuclear deal

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Senators John McCain and Jack Reed listen to testimony about the JCPOA on July 29, 2015.

Members of Congress requested the ability to review a nuclear deal with Iran before any actions were taken and stated that they, and not President Barack Obama (D), had the authority to lift or renew sanctions on Iran. The House unanimously approved HR 1191 - the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 on March 17, 2015.[1] The bill proposed requiring Obama to submit the details of a nuclear deal with Iran to Congress for review if negotiators reached a final agreement. The bill also proposed a 60-day review period for members of Congress to vote to approve or disapprove the deal, during which sanctions on Iran would not be lifted. On May 7, 2015, the Senate voted to approve HR 1191 by a vote of 98-1. Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton (R) cast the only vote against the bill.[2][3]

Cotton, the author of the Senate letter to the Iranian government, explained why he voted against the bill in the following statement: "A nuclear-arms agreement with any adversary—especially the terror-sponsoring, Islamist Iranian regime—should be submitted as a treaty and obtain a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate as required by the Constitution."[4]

On May 14, 2015, the House approved Senate amendments to HR 1191 by a vote of 400-25.[5][6] After the House passed the bill, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) said, "Once this legislation is signed, when Secretary Kerry sits across from the Iranians, he'll now have on his mind, 'I've got to take this to Congress.' That prospect can only improve these negotiations. And I just hope it's not too late and we aren't too deep into a bad deal."[7]

Obama initially said that he would veto any legislation that could harm negotiations with Iran, but White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest later said, "The president would be willing to sign the proposed compromise."[8] On May 22, 2015, Obama signed HR 1191, which gave Congress the ability to review the nuclear deal.[5]

Congress' 60 days to review the JCPOA began on July 20, 2015, and a final decision was required by September 18, 2015.[9][10] During the review period, Obama was precluded from lifting sanctions on Iran by the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015.[11]

On July 14, 2015, before the review period began, then-Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) released a statement about his approach to reviewing the JCPOA. He said, "Instead of stopping the spread of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, this deal is likely to fuel a nuclear arms race around the world. The House of Representatives will review every detail of this agreement very closely, but I won’t support any agreement that jeopardizes the safety of the American people and all who value freedom and security. This isn’t about Republicans versus Democrats. It’s about right and wrong. And we will fight a bad deal that is wrong for our national security and wrong for our country."[12]

The Senate cast the first vote regarding the deal on September 10, 2015. Senate Democrats filibustered the measure to disapprove of the Iran nuclear deal by a vote of 58-42.[13] Sixty votes were needed to proceed to HJ Res 61 - the Hire More Heroes Act of 2015, the legislative vehicle the Senate was expected to use to disapprove of the Iran nuclear deal.[14] The Senate voted on the same legislation on September 15, 2015, and it failed for a second time by a vote of 56-42. Senators and 2016 presidential candidates Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) did not vote.[15] The legislation was voted on for a third time on September 17, and it failed for a third time by a vote of 56-42. Paul, once again, did not vote. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), also a 2016 presidential candidate, did not vote either.[16]

The House decided to vote on three separate pieces of legislation regarding the nuclear agreement. The House passed the first resolution, H Res 411 - Finding that the President has not complied with section 2 of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, by a vote of 245-186 on September 10, 2015. All 245 House Republicans voted for the resolution that President Obama violated section 2 of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, which required the president to submit all materials related to the nuclear agreement, because two agreements between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran were not submitted for congressional review.[17] During a July 28 congressional hearing, Secretary of State John Kerry explained that the White House had not been given access to the side agreements.[18]

On September 11, 2015, the House voted against approving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Members of the House rejected HR 3461 by a vote of 162-269. Twenty-five Democrats voted with 244 Republicans against approving the nuclear deal.[19][20]

On the same day, the House voted to approve HR 3460, which proposed prohibiting "the President, prior to January 21, 2017, from: limiting the application of specified sanctions on Iran or refraining from applying any such sanctions; or removing a foreign person (including entities) listed in Attachments 3 or 4 to Annex II of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) from the list of designated nationals and blocked persons maintained by the Office of Foreign Asset Control of the Department of the Treasury." Rep. Gwen Graham (D-Fla.) and Juan Vargas (D-Calif.) voted with all 245 Republicans to suspend Obama's ability to provide Iran with sanctions relief. The bill passed by a vote of 247-186.[21][22]

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) proposed S Amdt 2656 to S Amdt 2640. The amendment proposed prohibiting "the President from waiving, suspending, reducing, providing relief from, or otherwise limiting the application of sanctions pursuant to an agreement related to the nuclear program of Iran."[23] Senate Democrats filibustered the measure on September 17, 2015, by a vote of 53-45.[23] Congress did not pass any legislation that approved of or rejected the deal.

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Clerk.House.gov, "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 118," accessed September 26, 2015
  2. ↑ Congress.gov, "HR 1191," accessed May 8, 2015
  3. ↑ Senate.gov, "H.R. 1191," accessed May 8, 2015
  4. ↑ The Hill, "Senate overwhelmingly approves Iran review bill in 98-1 vote," accessed May 8, 2015
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Congress.gov, "H.R.1191 - Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015," accessed May 16, 2015
  6. ↑ Clerk.House.gov, "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 226," accessed May 16, 2015
  7. ↑ The Hill, "House sends Iran review bill to Obama," accessed May 16, 2015
  8. ↑ The Hill, "Iran bill passes committee unanimously," accessed April 14, 2015
  9. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Jerusalem
  10. ↑ The United States Institute of Peace, "The Final Deal: Promises and Pitfalls," July 224, 2015
  11. ↑ The United States Institute of Peace, "Guide to Congressional Action on Iran Deal," June 26, 2015
  12. ↑ Speaker.gov, "Speaker Boehner Statement on Iran Nuclear Agreement," July 14, 2015
  13. ↑ Congress.gov, "S.Amdt.2640 to H.J.Res.61," accessed September 10, 2015
  14. ↑ Congress.gov, "HJ Res 61," accessed September 10, 2015
  15. ↑ Senates.gov, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on McConnell Amdt. No. 2640 )," accessed September 16, 2015
  16. ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on McConnell Amdt. No. 2640 )," accessed September 17, 2015
  17. ↑ Clerk.House.gov, "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 492," accessed September 10, 2015
  18. ↑ USNews.com, "Kerry Denies Seeing Iran Deal's Side Agreements," accessed September 26, 2015
  19. ↑ Congress.gov, "HR 3461," accessed September 11, 2015
  20. ↑ Clerk.House.gov, "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 493," accessed September 11, 2015
  21. ↑ Congress.gov, "HR 3460," accessed September 10, 2015
  22. ↑ Clerk.House.gov, "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 494," accessed September 11, 2015
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Congress.gov, "S.Amdt.2656 to S.Amdt.2640," accessed September 17, 2015 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "samdt2656vote" defined multiple times with different content
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