Iran Review Bill is rare victory of policy over politics

By U.S. Sen. Angus King

(I-Maine)

    The threat of a nuclear-armed Iran is dangerous to the United States and to the rest of the world – and diplomacy that leads to an agreement that blocks Iran’s ability to become a nuclear weapon state is, as it always has been, the preferred way for the U.S. and the international community to achieve its objective.

    The United States and our P5+1 Partners – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Germany – are in the midst of pivotal nuclear negations with Iran. These negotiations are some of the most important diplomatic talks in a generation, and could potentially yield a deal that blocks Iran’s path to a bomb. But Iran has shown itself to be a dangerous exporter of terrorism, and we must make sure that any potential deal is both enforceable and verifiable. President Reagan once said, “Trust, but verify.” But on this particular agreement, the motto should be, “Don’t trust, and always verify.”

    To that end, it’s very important that Congress has a productive and sensible say in approving or disapproving a deal. And in a rare triumph of thoughtful governing over partisan politics, the Senate overwhelmingly passed the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 earlier this month to make sure that responsible review can happen if a deal is reached. This bill would require that any final agreement with Iran be submitted to Congress for a 30-day review period before congressionally-mandated sanctions on Iran could be waived or suspended by the president. A key element of the legislation is that the review would take place after any potential deal is reached with Iran, ensuring that any partisan gamesmanship doesn’t derail the ongoing negotiations.

    I should note that the success of this bipartisan bill, which ended up passing the Senate by a vote of 98-1, did not happen overnight. I’ve been involved in the development of this legislation from the very beginning, when a bipartisan group of Senators visited the Middle East back in January and began discussing the need for responsible congressional review of any deal. The group – which included me, Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), John McCain (R-Arizona), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), and Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) – laid the groundwork for what eventually became the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act.

    As the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Senator Corker drafted the bill, negotiated with other members of the committee, and I joined him as an original cosponsor of the legislation in part because I had faith in Senator Corker to put politics aside and help Congress have a sensible role in the discussion. Senator Corker, to his credit, was able to rise above the rhetoric in Washington and navigate partisan tactics that involved an open letter to the Ayatollah and poison-pill amendments that could have undermined the bill. And along with Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), he was able to craft a bill that withstood those challenges to win all-but-unanimous support on the Senate floor. Thanks in large part to his leadership, the Senate has created a path forward for meaningful and reasonable review that gives diplomacy with Iran a chance to succeed.

    The talks with Iran are set to end in June, and it still remains to be seen whether an acceptable, enforceable deal can be reached. The U.S. must not accept a bad deal and I have been encouraged by the framework announced in April, which was an important step forward in reaching a final deal. As the negotiations continue, it certainly doesn’t hurt that one of our country’s chief negotiators, Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, is an actual nuclear physicist – providing our team with an invaluable technical proficiency and understanding at the highest level. If the U.S. and our partners are able to reach an agreement with Iran, Congress stands ready to make sure that we can hold Iran to its end of the bargain.

    We can’t solve all the problems of the region in the current negotiations. The purpose of this potential agreement is to prevent Iran from achieving a nuclear weapon. There’s only one thing worse than an Iran that is working to support terrorism and destabilize other regimes– and that is an Iran doing those things while armed with a nuclear weapon.

    It’s easy to get the impression that Congress can’t get anything done, but this is a case where a few key leaders put partisanship aside and accomplished something significant for the country.