[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3219-3220]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      IRAN NUCLEAR AGREEMENT REVIEW ACT OF 2015--MOTION TO PROCEED

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to proceed to S. 625.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the motion.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 27, S. 625, a bill to 
     provide for congressional review and oversight of agreements 
     relating to Iran's nuclear program, and for other purposes.


                             Cloture Motion

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under 
rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to 
     proceed to S. 625, a bill to provide for congressional review 
     and oversight of agreements relating to Iran's nuclear 
     program.
         Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn, Daniel Coats, Mike Crapo, 
           Shelley Moore Capito, Thom Tillis, Roger F. Wicker, 
           David Vitter, Jerry Moran, Deb Fischer, Johnny Isakson, 
           Lamar Alexander, Richard Burr, Orrin G. Hatch, Thad 
           Cochran, Steve Daines, John Thune.

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that 
notwithstanding rule XXII, the cloture vote on the motion to proceed to 
S. 625 occur 1 hour after the Senate convenes on Tuesday, March 10.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
mandatory quorum call be waived.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, yesterday the Prime Minister of Israel 
shared with the Congress and the American people his perspective 
regarding Israel's national security interests and the threat the 
radical regime in Tehran poses to stability in the greater Middle East. 
The Prime Minister explained later in the day in a meeting here in the 
Senate why any agreement that leaves Iran with a threshold nuclear 
weapons capability is harmful not only to the strategic interests of 
Israel but to the United States and to our allies.
  Unfortunately, President Obama appears to be pursuing an agreement 
that is designed to leave the Iranians with a threshold nuclear 
capability under which they can retain thousands of centrifuges, 
continue to master the nuclear fuel cycle, advance ballistic missile 
research and testing, and keep secret any possible military dimensions 
of nuclear development that has already occurred. Iran has a record of 
covertly pursuing aspects of a nuclear weapons program.
  The administration has pursued the P5+1 negotiation, not as part of 
an overall strategy to end Iran's nuclear program and to defeat its 
efforts to dominate the region but as a stand-alone matter of 
litigation where a settlement must be reached. This negotiation 
shouldn't be about getting the best deal the Iranians will agree to; it 
should be about the strategic objective of ending Iran's nuclear 
weapons program.
  Many in Congress have been wary of what kind of concessions the Obama 
administration might agree to with the Iranians and what were the 
responsible steps to be taken if Iran refused to give up the pursuit of 
a nuclear weapons capability.
  Yesterday I began the process to move to legislation that would meet 
the demands from both sides of the aisle--to give Congress the ability 
to review and vote on any deal the President agrees to with Iran. From 
a legislative perspective, given that this bipartisan bill was 
introduced last week and that the Foreign Relations Committee has ample 
time to mark up this bill and send a substitute to the floor, I was 
surprised that some Senators made statements objecting to their own 
legislation. It was surprising to see some Members on the other side of 
the aisle threaten to filibuster their own bill--a bill they rushed to 
introduce before the President's negotiations were complete.
  This isn't complicated. A bill was introduced, and, as I discussed 
with the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, it can be marked 
up, and the committee-passed bill would be the substitute the Senate 
then considers.
  From a policy perspective, it makes clear to the administration not 
to strike a deal that leaves Iran as a threshold nuclear state. And it 
makes obvious sense to consider the Nuclear Review Act before the 
deadline for a political agreement because the Iranians need to know 
that congressional sanctions will not be lifted if a bad deal is 
reached, and some will oppose lifting sanctions if they refuse to 
disclose the potential military dimensions of their nuclear program.
  But, look, time is running out. Iran's Foreign Minister said today 
that he believes they are very close to a deal.
  There is nothing partisan about the Senate acting to serve its 
constitutional role in oversight and in pursuing policies that uphold 
the national security interest. It was the Obama administration that 
decided to negotiate an agreement with Iran that would not be submitted 
to the Senate as a treaty. The White House went out of its way to 
bypass the elected representatives of the people in this negotiation 
with Iran. It is the Obama administration that is negotiating a deal 
with the Iranians that will leave them with a nuclear infrastructure. 
And it is the Corker-Graham-Menendez-Kaine bill that will ensure that 
Congress will review any deal the President strikes with Iran.
  So let's be clear. The actions we have taken would allow the sponsors 
of this sensible, bipartisan legislation to begin the debate next week. 
And it will allow for the Foreign Relations Committee to follow the 
regular order and debate and vote on the bill. If the committee reports 
a bill, the committee bill will become the text that the full Senate 
debates. That is called the regular order.
  It is my sincere hope that the sponsors of this bill will have the 
opportunity to review and defend their bill in committee and will not 
filibuster and prevent the full Senate from also acting on their 
important legislation. The Senators who introduced the bill--who 
introduced it--should certainly vote to debate the measure.

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