Washington: The US Congress has passed a legislation which gives lawmakers right to review and possibly reject any nuclear deal with Iran.
The bill was overwhelmingly passed by the House of Representatives by 400-25 votes yesterday, a week after the Senate cleared it.
It now goes to the White House for President Barack Obama to sign it into a law which provides the Congress a critical tool in having a say in Iranian deal.
“We know that Iran’s rush to a nuclear weapon is a mortal threat to the US and our allies. In fact, the stakes couldn’t be higher,” Congressman Ed Royce, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said.
The American people and their representatives are rightly concerned about the direction of the negotiations, the threat of a nuclear Iran and the President’s desire to unilaterally strike a deal, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said.
“The United States began negotiations with Iran to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons, but the framework for a deal that President Obama presented us would not accomplish that objective,” he said, adding that the bill will stop the President from unilaterally lifting Congressional sanctions against Iran while the US reviews the deal.
“It will require regular updates from the Administration on Iran’s compliance and will give the representatives of people a say, a check and balance, as the Constitution requires,” McCarthy said.
House Speaker John Boehner said Iran cannot be allowed to develop or obtain nuclear weapons.
“So President Obama’s admission that his current framework would allow Iran to achieve a nuclear breakout time ‘almost down to zero’ is more than extremely troubling, it is unacceptable,” he alleged.
“This is why Congress must have a role in reviewing any potential deal the president cuts with Iran. The American people are worried and America’s allies are worried, that the White House will do anything to get one,” Boehner said.
“So my colleagues and I have one goal: stop a bad deal. The bipartisan legislation the House passed today is the only way Congress will have that opportunity,” he said.
In a statement, the American Israeli Political Action Committee, applauded the House of Representatives for its overwhelming passage of the legislation.
“The adoption of this important, bipartisan legislation following Senate passage last week provides Congress with a critical mechanism to evaluate a nuclear weapons agreement with Iran,” it said.
PTI
