US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that debate should begin next week on bipartisan legislation requiring President Barack Obama to submit any nuclear deal with Iran to Congress for its approval.
That debate could also open the door for consideration of new economic sanctions on the regime in Tehran, a move strongly opposed by the Obama administration amid ongoing international negotiations with Iran.
The bill requiring congressional review of any nuclear agreement "will be on the floor of the Senate for debate next week," McConnell told reporters yesterday.
It would give Congress 60 days to hold hearings and classified briefings on the deal, and either approve or reject it.
The White House has already threatened to veto the legislation because the administration wants flexibility to hammer out an accord with Iran and other international negotiators without meddling from Congress.
The bill was introduced by Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker and the panel's top Democrat, Senator Robert Menendez.
"The timing is important," McConnell said. "We think it will help prevent the administration from entering into a bad deal. But if they do, then it will provide an opportunity for Congress to weigh in."
McConnell's announcement came just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave an impassioned, controversial speech to the US Congress where he warned of the global dangers of a nuclear Iran and urged Washington not to cave in to a "bad deal."
Legislation that would impose sanctions in the event no final deal is reached by the end of July, a deadline imposed by negotiators, passed the foreign relations committee on January 29.
While the base bill under consideration next week does not address such economic punishments, McConnell said the sanctions could be attached as an amendment.
Several Democrats including Menendez told Obama in late January that they would not vote on Iran sanctions until after March 24.
With Congress in recess in the final week of March, that would give the administration room to reach a political deal with Iran by their initial March 31 deadline.
"Certainly, if no agreement is reached, we'll need to ratchet up the sanctions," McConnell said.
