Cotton Lone No, Boozman Votes Yes For Iran Deal Review

Sen. Tom Cotton was the lone holdout in a 98-1 vote today for the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, which requires President Obama to submit a final nuclear deal with Iran to Congress before he can waive or suspend sanctions against that country.

In a statement, Cotton said, “A nuclear-arms agreement with any adversary –especially the terror-sponsoring, Islamist Iranian regime – should be submitted as a treaty and obtain a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate as required by the Constitution. President Obama wants to reverse this rule, requiring opponents to get a two-thirds vote to stop his dangerous deal. But Congress should not accept this usurpation, nor allow the president any grounds to claim that Congress blessed his nuclear deal. I will work with Republicans and Democrats to stop a dangerous deal that would put Iran on the path to obtaining a nuclear weapon.”

Sen. John Boozman is one off the bill’s 66 co-sponsors. In a statement, he said, “A nuclear armed Iran would be a threat to the United States, our allies and the world as a whole. While I do believe that resolving this crisis diplomatically is in everyone’s best interest, the framework the administration has presented gives little confidence that this resolution is the right one. It appears that the Obama Administration and the regime in Tehran can’t even agree on what the framework says.

“While I understand my colleagues’ desire to strengthen the bill, and was supportive of some of their efforts, Congress cannot simply walk away without having a say in this vital national security matter that has been negotiated behind closed doors.

“Without this bill, there will be no review of the Iran deal. There would be nothing stopping President Obama from signing a bad agreement with Iran. There would be no limitation on the president’s ability to waive sanctions and it would be much more difficult for Congress to reinstate sanctions should Iran fail to live up to its end of the bargain. It was sanctions that brought the Iranians to the table in the first place. If they are unilaterally removed, the Iranians will have no reason to carry out their commitments.

“We have a responsibility to ensure that Iran never achieves its goal of becoming a nuclear power. Passage of this bill restores Congress’s ability to ensure any deal with Iran is verifiable, enforceable and accountable. Without it, the ability for the U.S. and our allies to hold Iran accountable to its promises is virtually non-existent.”