US House of Representatives Approves Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015
May 14, 2015, Washington DC – The U.S. House of Representatives today approved the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 by a margin of 400 to 25. The vote comes a week after the Senate overwhelmingly approved the act, which will grant congressional oversight and potential vote on any deal with Iran over its nuclear program.
The measure now goes to the White House, where President Barack Obama is expected to sign it into law. The legislation proscribes a 30-day examination period following a final agreement with Iran, during which time the president may waive sanctions imposed by the executive branch but not sanctions that Congress had enacted. Congress would then be able to vote to disapprove the deal or take no action. The legislation, would amongst other measures, also compel the president to certify Iran’s compliance with the final agreement.
The Obama Administration and some members of Congress were concerned that an earlier version of the bill could have potentially derailed the nuclear negotiations with Iran by tying the approval and implementation of any agreement to certification that Iran no longer provides support for designated terrorist organizations that run counter to U.S. interests. The amended version of the bill excludes such language, appeasing many Congressional Democrats and the White House.
“By removing certification requirements that are beyond the scope of the negotiation talks, the compromise bill bolsters the president’s diplomatic strategy to verifiably prevent a nuclear-armed Iran while reinforcing public sentiment’s general disapproval of costly wars,” said Leila Austin, Executive Director of PAAIA in a joint op-ed published on April 19th. “To that end, the current compromise bill is likely to ensure that the United States and its partners remain in a strong position to obtain an adequate nuclear deal with Iran.”
Click here to read PAAIA’s statement on the Nuclear Agreement Review Act.
