Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker said Tuesday that negotiators had reached a bipartisan agreement on legislation allowing Congress to review a final nuclear deal with Iran.
“We have reached a bipartisan agreement that keeps the congressional review process absolutely intact, full of integrity,” Corker, a Tennessee Republican, said in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
While Corker said that “no one should ever count their chickens before they hatch,” he expressed optimism that when the bill comes up for a vote in the committee later Tuesday it would pass, as expected.
According to a Corker aide familiar with the details of the bill, it requires the President to submit the final agreement to Congress, which will have up to 52 days to review and approve the deal. That includes an initial review period of 30 days, with 12 more days added automatically if Congress passes a bill and sends it to the president and an additional 10 days of congressional review if Obama vetoes the legislation.
But while passage of the bill through the committee is expected, there’s no sign that the White House will reverse its opposition to the measure or if the bipartisan support amounted to enough to override a presidential veto.
If the deal is submitted late, after July 9, the review period reverts to 60 days.
During that time, the President is prohibited from waiving the congressional sanctions. And Obama is required by the legislation to certify to Congress every 90 days that Iran is complying with the terms of the deal.
The bill also requires the President to make a series of detailed reports to Congress on a range of issues, including Iran’s nuclear program, its ballistic missiles work, and its support for terrorism globally, particularly against the U.S. and its allies.
Sen. Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the committee, had expressed optimism Monday night that negotiators could come to an agreement that would appease the White House while maintaining the ultimate goal of requiring congressional approval.
“I think we can get to a place where we can deal with most of the White House’s concerns and maintain the purpose of the bill, which is an orderly congressional review and timely notice if there are material breaches,” he said.
But other Democrats were less optimistic Monday night. Delaware Democratic Sen. Chris Coons said he’s had a “series of conversations with representatives of the administration, and my impression is they remain opposed to the bill.
“In fact, I think they remain strongly opposed to the bill,” he added.
Coons has an amendment to the bill that shortens the congressional review time to 30 days, in an attempt to appease Democratic critics and the White House. But even so, Coons said it was “entirely possible” — even “likely” — that the bill could draw support from Senate Democrats while the administration remains opposed.
Congressional negotiators worked through the weekend and into the night Monday to hammer out legislation that would draw enough support from hardline Republicans and moderate Democrats to pass. Corker argued that the bill was simply common sense, declaring that “I would think every American would want to make sure that someone on their behalf is ensuring” that there are enforcement mechanisms in place to ensure that Iran has no chance of breaking an agreement.
House Speaker John Boehner on Tuesday said he expected the House to take up the Corker bill once the Senate votes on it, saying the proposal has taken “center stage.”
He reiterated his stance that Congress should “absolutely have the opportunity to review the deal,” adding the administration “appears to want a deal at any cost.” But he brushed off the notion that he was working to derail the nuclear deal.
Corker said he believed there was language in the final bill that addresses concerns over whether Iran needs to recognize Israel as part of a deal — and Sen. Marco Rubio’s office confirmed that the Floridian would offer an amendment Tuesday that would do just that, requiring Iran to recognize Israel’s right to exist.
But while Corker said he was hopeful there would eventually be an agreement with Iran, he said that outcome was made tougher this weekend with the news that Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized the delivery of missiles to Iran.
“I want us to have, by the way, a successfully negotiated agreement with Iran. But obviously, you know, our partner—quote, quote, quote—Russia, certainly is making this very, very difficult, as they have in other parts of the world,” the senator said.
And Corker pushed back against comments from White House officials that they were working with him on the legislation, which he said couldn’t be “further from the truth.”
“I’ve had no conversations about the substance of this bill with any principal, whether it be the president, Secretary Kerry or others,” he said.
He speculated that such remarks may be coming from the fact that the White House is “beginning to see momentum building behind the bill.”