WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged his colleagues to support the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015.
“This bill is not a referendum on the President’s decision to pursue a path of diplomacy with Iran. This bill is not a referendum on the parameters announced on April 2. The bill before us this week has a simple, clear goal. It is about creating an orderly process that allows Congress to review any deal. As negotiations come to an end, it would ensure that Congress can play a constructive role after an agreement is reached by considering whether the deal is strong enough to warrant rolling back congressionally enacted sanctions,” said Senator Coons. “Yet, some, a few of my colleagues have insisted on making this bill a partisan exercise rather than keeping it the responsible, bipartisan measure that’s before us now.”
“I believe I’ve been as outspoken as anybody about Iran’s destructive behavior, but I’m troubled by some of the amendments being offered to make Iran’s human rights record, its support for terrorism, and its relationship with Israel a part of these negotiations. Yes, Iran’s human rights record is atrocious. Its support for terrorism threatens the stability of its neighbors and has taken countless innocent lives. Its continued threatening of Israel and its unwillingness to recognize the right of the Jewish state of Israel to exist is cowardly, dangerous, and just plain wrong. Iran must release the four Americans it currently holds hostage. I think everyone in this body would agree that these are legitimate concerns for our consideration. Yet the truth remains that they are outside the scope of the current negotiations around Iran’s nuclear program, and Congress must resist the temptation to make them a sticking point in those negotiations by including them amendments to this bill,” said Senator Coons.
Senator Coons’ full remarks are pasted below:
“M. President, first I’d like to thank Senator Cardin for his gracious remarks and for his real and strong and capable leadership.
“I come to the floor today to speak about the Iranian nuclear negotiations and the need for Congress to play a constructive, meaningful role in reviewing any potential deal.
“This week, the full Senate will consider the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, which would ensure Congress has the ability to consider any nuclear deal with Iran before any congressionally enacted sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program are rolled back. This bill will also ensure that Congress exercises its oversight over the implementation of any agreement through imposing rigorous reporting requirements and certifications on the Administration.
“This bill passed the Foreign Relations Committee of the United States Senate unanimously after Senators Corker and Cardin – the Chair and Ranking Member – worked tirelessly together to ensure that it would receive bipartisan support. They carefully negotiated a deal that defeated amendments that would have prevent the Obama Administration from continuing to negotiate in good faith, and in my view, it’s a great testament to their leadership that we were able to come together on a bipartisan bill that passed the committee unanimously, and that the President has now said that he would sign.
“For the last four years, I have been hugely frustrated by the failure of Republicans and Democrats to come together in this Senate to pass legislation for the American people. The Republicans are now in the majority and have a chance to move past obstructionism and into leadership, and to show that in this Senate we have an opportunity to pass a bill that this Senate plays a constructive role in protecting the United States’ national interest. Leader McConnell has said that he wants a functioning Senate; that he wants regular order; that he wants the Senate to play its rightful role in foreign affairs. Well, here is the chance.
“Let’s review what has happened with this piece of legislation. The Republican chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, working well with his Democratic counterpart, crafted this bipartisan bill. It has today 44 Republican co-sponsors. It has passed committee, which has fully and thoroughly debated this bill and many potential amendments. A committee with views as broad as Republican Senators Johnson and Rubio and Paul to Democratic Senators Boxer and Murphy – a very broad range of views on our foreign policy – came together to pass this unanimously. If that’s not regular order, I don’t know what is.
“If Senator McConnell wants a functioning Senate, I believe we should respect the committee process that Chairman Corker and Ranking Member Cardin led to achieve this compromise. That bill gives Leader McConnell exactly the opportunity he wants to ensure that this Senate exercises its role in protecting America’s national interest. I particularly liked what my Republican colleague from South Carolina, Senator Lindsey Graham said recently. He said, and I believe I quote: ‘Anybody who monkeys with this bill is going to run into a buzz saw. Anybody who offers an amendment that will break this agreement apart – that will merely benefit the Iranians.’
“That is why I stand here as well today to urge my colleagues to avoid attaching ‘poison pill’ amendments that are outside the scope of the current, ongoing negotiations, and pass this bill as currently passed out of the Foreign Relations Committee and as currently supported by a majority of Senate Republicans.
“M. President, over the last few years Iran has responded to congressionally enacted sanctions by finally coming to the negotiating table to discuss and deal with its illicit nuclear weapons program. The Obama Administration and the other P5+1 countries have been engaged in difficult, demanding negotiations with the Iranian theocratic regime. After a few extensions that effectively frozen and in some ways rolled back certain parts of Iran’s illicit nuclear program, the Administration is in the final phases of their negotiations. Earlier this month, the President released the parameters of a potential deal with the technical details and a few remaining critical gaps to be finalized possibly by the end of June.
“This bill is not a referendum on the President’s decision to pursue a path of diplomacy with Iran. This bill is not a referendum on the parameters announced on April 2. The bill before us this week has a simple, clear goal. It is about creating an orderly process that allows Congress to review any deal. As negotiations come to an end, it would ensure that Congress can play a constructive role after an agreement is reached by considering whether the deal is strong enough to warrant rolling back congressionally enacted sanctions. Yet, some, a few of my colleagues have insisted on making this bill a partisan exercise rather than keeping it the responsible, bipartisan measure that’s before us now.
“This bill is not about debating the merits of an ultimate deal now. We will have that chance when or if a deal is reached over the summer. It is not about – I hope – killing the negotiations before they have a chance to conclude. This bill is not about creating a list of complaints about Iran’s destructive behavior in areas outside of its nuclear program. It could and should pass now, in its current form, without amendments.
“I believe I’ve been as outspoken as anybody about Iran’s destructive behavior, but I’m troubled by some of the amendments being offered to make Iran’s human rights record, its support for terrorism, and its relationship with Israel a part of these negotiations. Yes, Iran’s human rights record is atrocious. Its support for terrorism threatens the stability of its neighbors and has taken countless innocent lives. Its continued threatening of Israel and its unwillingness to recognize the right of the Jewish state of Israel to exist is cowardly, dangerous, and just plain wrong. Iran must release the four Americans it currently holds hostage. I think everyone in this body would agree that these are legitimate concerns for our consideration. Yet the truth remains that they are outside the scope of the current negotiations around Iran’s nuclear program, and Congress must resist the temptation to make them a sticking point in those negotiations by including them amendments to this bill.”
“Let’s be clear – there are already congressionally enacted sanctions on Iran for its behavior in these areas, and the deal’s parameters, as published on April 2, said, quote, ‘U.S. sanctions on Iran for terrorism, for human rights abuses, and for its ballistic missile program will remain in place under the deal.’ No one is talking about removing those sanctions. The negotiations are about Iran’s illicit nuclear weapons program and the critical importance of preventing Iran from ever building a nuclear weapon.
“M. President, I have long believed a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a grave threat to the region, to Israel, and to the world. The nuclear arms race it would set off throughout the Middle East would have horrible consequences for global security.
“That’s why throughout the negotiating process, I have remained adamant that no deal is better than a bad deal, and I’ve closely consulted with the Administration on that point as well as many others. I’ve met with senior Administration officials to discuss these recently announced parameters and been clear that I remain concerned about closing the remaining gaps and the need to maintain pressure on the Iranian regime to close any pathway to their development of a nuclear weapons capability.
“I support this bill as it is. It is responsible and focused on the issue at hand. It ensures that Congress gets to weigh in if a deal is reached, and it strengthens this Administration’s ability to negotiate the best deal it possibly can.
“Every Republican in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted for this bill, all ten of them, from Senator Rand Paul and Senator Rubio to Senator Johnson and Senator Barrasso. All nine Democrats supported this bill as well. All 19 Senators on this Foreign Relations Committee represent as wide a range of foreign policy views as could exist. So I would urge my colleagues on both sides to pause and reflect before supporting amendments that would make this a partisan exercise rather than a prudent use of congressional authority. If they want Congress to play a responsible role overseeing any potential deal, this bill gives us that chance. The alternative to this bill is not a better bill; it is a deal without any meaningful congressional input.
“I have been as critical of Iran and distrusting of its intentions as anyone else in this body, but if unrelated amendments become attached to this bill, I will not support its final passage.
“We have here because of the great leadership of these two Senators, a rare moment for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate as a whole to demonstrate its ability to move past what have been divisive and partisan fights over the last four years and come together and enact into law a measure that demonstrates our ability to give constructive and timely input on one of the most important national security challenges of our day and to restrain our sometimes extreme and divisive instincts in this body and instead demonstrate our ability to overcome those instincts and show our relevance.
“Let us not miss this opportunity to work together in the best interests of our nation.”