[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 14157]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      NUCLEAR AGREEMENT WITH IRAN

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on a different matter, as the Senate 
continues debating President Obama's deal with Iran today, I think it 
is appropriate to consider a quote from the President himself. Here is 
what he said:

       I believe Congress owes the American people a final up-or-
     down vote. We need courage. You know, in the end, this debate 
     is about far more than politics.

  When it comes to the Iran deal, you would have to say the President 
is right. After all, do Senators think it is right for the world's 
leading sponsor of terror to be able to maintain an American-recognized 
nuclear program? Do Senators think it is right that this deal would 
effectively subsidize Hezbollah, Hamas, and Bashar al-Assad by 
channeling literally billions of dollars to their benefactors in 
Tehran? Do Senators approve of a deal that would leave Iran with an 
enrichment capability just as the Iranian leadership is again calling 
for Israel's destruction and praying for ours as well? It is hard to 
see how Senators could agree with these things.
  Many Democratic colleagues, including the top Democrats on the 
Foreign Affairs Committees in both Houses of Congress who are among the 
most familiar with the President's deal with Iran, have already come 
out in opposition. A strong bipartisan majority of the House of 
Representatives voted to reject the deal. A strong bipartisan majority 
of the Senate would vote to reject it as well, if only Democratic 
Senators would stop blocking the American people from even having a 
final vote on one of the most consequential foreign policy issues of 
our time.
  Democratic Senators will have a chance to vote on behalf of their 
constituents later today. Perhaps they will consider the President's 
words I quoted earlier. It is from a 2010 speech about ObamaCare. If 
the President was so insistent on ``courage'' and a ``final up-or-down 
vote'' back then on ObamaCare, how can he justify blocking a vote now 
on an issue of such immense magnitude as the Iran deal? It is part of a 
larger retreat to campaigning instead of engaging on this important 
issue, ad hominem attacks instead of serious debate, campaign one-
liners instead of intellectual arguments, and simply ignoring reality 
when it becomes inconvenient. That is why you see the President 
claiming ``strong support of lawmakers and citizens'' for his Iran 
deal.
  Well, here is what the Washington Post's Fact Checker had to say 
about that:

       Any way you slice it, it is difficult to support the claim 
     that there is ``strong support'' for the Iran deal among 
     lawmakers and citizens. This is clearly a case of winning 
     ugly, in the face of minority support among lawmakers and 
     increasing opposition among American citizens.
       The White House certainly did better than many analysts 
     expected, since enough Democrats supported the agreement to 
     prevent a final Senate vote on the merits. And Obama avoided 
     a veto fight. But that's different than having ``strong 
     support'' for the deal.

  That is the Washington Post Fact Checker.
  So if Democrats share the President's determination to ``win ugly'' 
on this important issue, then they have sufficient numbers to do that, 
apparently, but I would remind my colleagues of something. This debate 
should not be about a President who will leave office in 16 months. It 
should be about where our country will be in 16 years.
  Consider this advice from an editorial that appeared in Bloomberg 
last month:

       Tactics aside, it would be far better to win this fight 
     fairly. The pact is not a treaty: A future President and 
     Congress might overturn it, arguing that it was sealed 
     without proper consideration. And history often looks with 
     disgust at causes built on fear, especially if they go awry.

  This is an important moment for the Democratic Party, but more 
importantly it is an important moment for our country. Let's stand up 
for the people we represent. Let's allow them to vote on what is one of 
the most consequential foreign policy issues of our age.

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