Some
weeks ago, American negotiators and their five negotiating partners agreed the
framework of a deal with Iran concerning nuclear weapons and the lifting of
sanctions. The American Constitution requires American involvement in
agreements of this nature to be approved “with the advice and consent” of the
Senate. Accordingly, last week the deal came before the US Senate which voted
overwhelmingly by 98 votes to 1 with 1 abstention, to pass the Bill approving
the agreement. What had happened?
The
Bill passed by the Senate gives it skin in the game, as we golfers say. The
Senate will have oversight powers, allowing a thirty-day review of any final deal
made with Iran. There will now be a congressional voice in the process when the
President’s team finalises negotiations with the Islamic republic.
Nothing in terms
of passing laws through Congress comes easy. When the Bill was passed, Sen. Ben
Cardin (D-Md.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, commented:
"On such a serious national security matter, Congress has a responsibility
to fulfill its oversight obligations, to dispense with political divisions and
to unite around a common purpose." He added, "Such bipartisanship has
eluded the Senate of late, but I give great credit to Chairman Corker who kept
us focused on the ultimate goal." He was referring to Sen. Bob Corker's
(R-Tenn.) efforts to rework the original language of the Bill into a version
that was palatable to Democrats. This was no simple task.
Senate rules
permit any senator to add a ‘rider’ i.e. an additional clause to any Bill and
the rider does not have to be related to the Bill itself. For example, in an
agricultural Bill, a senator can seek a provision preventing abortion advice
being given by doctors employed by federally funded hospitals. Presidential
candidate Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla) sought a provision in the Bill requiring
Iran to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. The Israel provision was offensive
to supporters of the nuclear treaty Bill because, aside from being non-germane
to the negotiations, pro-Israel lawmakers were placed in the impossible
position of being forced to vote down pro-Israel legislation in public. No
doubt Senator Rubio had his motives but it will play badly for him in the Presidential
campaign that he would sacrifice national interests by forcing the Bill to be
still-born.
Faced with a risk
where the Iran Bill might be blocked, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
filed a cloture motion, a move to end debate and bring a Bill to a vote. The cloture
vote was delayed by several hours in an attempt to give lawmakers extra time to
reach agreement on a limited series of votes on amendments, before cutting off
debate entirely. Such an agreement was ultimately not agreed by either party
but McConnell’s move worked.
These days, most
Republican legislators oppose anything less than the unrestricted open
amendment process. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) was on record that he would block
any effort to vote on a predetermined set of changes to the nuclear bill. Senate
Democrats, who had not proposed any amendments, were ready to wrap up the Bill
as it was. Ultimately, only two amendments came to a vote, and both failed.
The Bill must
now go to the House of Representatives before arriving on the President’s desk.
It is expected to face less scrutiny and opposition in the House, due in part
to the looming deadline to reach a final nuclear deal. Of course, expectations
can always be confounded.
Assuming the
House approves the measure, the Bill will become law before the 30 June
deadline set by the framework agreement. The negotiations demonstrate how
difficult it is to have a bill passed by Congress unless it is carefully
managed and where compromise is the watchword. It is also surprising to find
bipartisanship in DC on this issue when the political parties have been daggers
drawn for so many years and when the Republicans in Congress have made it clear
that they will do what they can to confound the occupier of the White House.
Why has the Senate taken steps to approve the treaty? Historically this
House has been regarded as having foreign policy expertise. It saw the
importance of the treaty with Iran as the beginning of a process to control a
member of the nuclear family. Furthermore, it has taken steps to ensure
Congress keeps a hand firmly on the Executive as the treaty moves forward. In these
political time in America, wonders will never cease.
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