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Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
Obama Willing to Sign New Iran Bill
The White House has announced that the president is willing to sign the redrafted Corker-Menendez bill that deals with the Iran negotiations. Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and Ben Cardin (D-MD), the leaders on the Foreign Relations Committee, have reworked the original to address objections from Democrats. Although the Iran agreement does not require Senate approval because it is an agreement pursuant to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Congress will have to act to remove certain sanctions on Iran that are part of the international pact. Consequently, this bill is a necessary evil, and in its current form, appears fairly harmless.
According to the Washington Post,
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Obama still must submit the final deal to Congress, but the period during which Obama is restricted from lifting sanctions to implement the deal has been cut in half, from 60 days to 30 days. During that period, Congress may vote to approve or disapprove of the final deal. After that, the president has 12 days to veto the bill; and if he does; Congress has another 10 days to override that veto.
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Under the new framework, the president would certify to Congress every 90 days that Iran is complying with the final deal, but he would no longer have to certify that Iran had not directly supported a terrorist attack targeting an American or American business. And
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The new framework still preserves the ultimate approve/disapprove Congressional vote on the deal itself, i.e., the vote on whether the president has the authority to temporarily lift sanctions to implement a final deal.
The first point is significant because it creates a situation wherein Congress must muster 2/3 majorities in both the House and the Senate to ultimately scuttle the agreement with Iran. Congress can vote yea or nay, and Mr. Obama can veto any resolution he doesn't like. Failure to override the veto is tantamount to Congress allowing Mr. Obama to have his way.
The second point is actually rather a silly one as such certification in international relations often hinges on classified information, and so, the Congress will just have to trust the CIA on this. One may very well expect Mr. Obama to have several certifications printed up and sitting on his desk ready to be signed and dated.
The last point it moot since there are parts of the sanctions regime imposed by Acts of Congress that can only be undone by Acts of Congress. Iran has made it clear, and it is only just, that it demands all sanctions lifted as the quid pro quo for accepting the restrictions on its nuclear program. Even if the president were to lift all the sanctions imposed by executive order (and therefore under his sole control), others would remain until Congress acts, and those need to go as well, or Iran will balk at its side of the deal.
The bill sailed out of committee on a unanimous 19-0 vote, and one doubts that there will be a filibuster of it, although that could be a useful tactic to ensure that there are no amendments from the floor. Then, the House must pass the same bill, and it will be up to John Boehner to deliver. Given the backing of the Democrats, he can get an unamended bill through. The question is how much fighting with the Zionist extremist lobby will he have to endure.
This journal would prefer that Congress simply pass a bill lifting all sanctions on a pre-ordained schedule that the president can delay if implementation of the agreement falters. That is not going to happen for reasons beyond counting. This arrangement offers a reasonable way forward on a deal with Iran that has yet to be drafted. It is not a masterpiece in the art of the possible, but it is a competent example of the art.
© Copyright 2015 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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