US House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said today the lower chamber will act after the Senate on legislation giving Congress the power to review an emerging Iran nuclear deal.
McCarthy said he told Republican Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that if the Senate approves the bill, the House will vote on it.
"It's my intention to bring it to the floor of the House and move it," McCarthy, the No. 2 Republican lawmaker in the House, said at a news conference as Congress was returning from a two-week spring break.
Republicans and Democrats maintain that Congress should have a say on an international deal with Tehran to curb its nuclear program and have lined up behind legislation. The White House has pushed back, threatening a presidential veto while warning that the bill could scuttle the delicate talks involving the United States, Iran and five world powers.
Secretary of State John Kerry was meeting with members of the House late today to discuss the negotiations.
Kerry scheduled another closed-door session with senators tomorrow morning before the Foreign Relations Committee formally considers the measure, which would restrict Obama's ability to ease sanctions against Iran without congressional approval.
Under the bill, Obama could unilaterally lift or ease any sanctions that were imposed on Iran through presidential executive means. But the bill would prohibit him for 60 days from suspending, waiving or otherwise easing any sanctions that Congress levied on Iran. During that 60-day period, Congress could hold hearings and approve, disapprove or take no action on any final nuclear agreement with Iran.
If Congress passed a joint resolution approving a final deal or took no action Obama could move ahead to ease sanctions levied by Congress. But if Congress passed a joint resolution disapproving it, Obama would be blocked from providing Iran with any relief from congressional sanctions.
Iran says its program is for civilian purposes, but the US and its negotiating partners suspect Tehran is keen to become a nuclear-armed powerhouse in the Middle East, where it already holds much sway.
The bill has turned into a tug of war on Capitol Hill, with Republicans trying to raise the bar so high that a final deal might be impossible, and Democrats aiming to give the White House more room to negotiate with Tehran.
