[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5707]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   IRAN NUCLEAR AGREEMENT REVIEW ACT

  Mr. FLAKE. Madam President, I come to the floor today to talk about 
S. 615, the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act. This bill establishes a 
process to guarantee congressional review of any agreement reached 
between the P5+1 and Iran.
  Like everybody else here, my goal is to ensure that Iran does not 
acquire nuclear weapons. With that goal in mind, I have avoided 
supporting measures over the past 18 months that would impact the 
administration's ongoing negotiations. I believe it is incumbent upon 
us to explore every avenue of diplomacy to stop Iran from getting a 
nuclear weapon.
  There have been suggestions that this legislation we are considering 
today will negatively impact the negotiations for a final agreement. To 
the contrary, I think this legislation will improve the chances of 
reaching a final accord. Most importantly, it will improve the chances 
that this accord will stand the test of time.
  If approved, the President will have to negotiate knowing that 
Congress will ultimately review this agreement. That is only proper 
given that the terms of the agreement go far beyond--far beyond--the 
current administration.
  In truth, Congress has always had a role here. It was the U.S. 
Congress that passed the sanctions that brought Iran to the negotiating 
table. It is only the U.S. Congress that can permanently lift the 
sanctions. Unfortunately, the administration would prefer to go it 
alone when it comes to the implementation of this agreement by using 
the waiver authority that was granted when these sanctions were passed.
  There is no dispute that the President can lift these sanctions on a 
temporary basis. But since this agreement is slated to last well beyond 
the President's term and even the next President's term, any effective, 
enduring agreement has to have congressional buy-in. Let me repeat. If 
this legislation fails, the President will be able to sign a final 
agreement and have a nice signing ceremony, but an effective, enduring 
agreement to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon will require 
congressional buy-in.
  We also need to recognize that we are not operating in a vacuum. Once 
an agreement that includes our allies is reached, the multilateral 
sanctions regime that has been so effective in bringing Iran to the 
negotiating table will be defunct. These sanctions have been effective 
because it has been Iran versus the West rather than Iran versus the 
United States. It is unreasonable to assume that such a united front 
can be reassembled before Iran obtains a nuclear weapon.
  That is why the bill before us today is so important. It sets up a 
process for review by Congress of any agreement, preventing the 
administration from presenting Congress with a fait accompli. This 
legislation will not repeal any sanctions currently in place against 
Iran. Congress will still have to take action to lift these sanctions 
permanently. Its passage ensures that if Congress does repeal the 
sanctions, it does so because it chooses to, not because it has no 
other choice.
  I would also like to take a moment to reflect on the process that 
brought this bill out of committee. Tough issues were thoughtfully 
worked out and compromises were made to get this bill language to a 
place where the bill was voted unanimously out of committee with a 
recorded vote. Thanks to firm commitments made by the chairman and the 
ranking member to keep this bill bipartisan, the White House--which for 
weeks had threatened to veto the bill--reversed its position just hours 
before the markup. This about-face was likely due to the fact that 
there were so many Senators on a bipartisan basis lining up to support 
this bill.
  This legislation signals to the administration that it needs to keep 
Congress in mind when it negotiates. And, without poison pill 
amendments being added, the President will be forced to sign it.
  Most importantly, I am hopeful that the passage of this bill out of 
committee signifies a return to a time the Foreign Relations Committee 
is able to work across the aisle on foreign policy matters. I realize 
it cannot always happen, but the ideal is when partisan politics can--
as Senator Vandenberg put it--stop at the water's edge.
  The reality is that given the myriad of foreign policy challenges 
that confront us around the globe, we do not have the luxury of 
partisanship, and nowhere is this more evident than with the 
legislation we are considering today. I hope we can come together and 
pass it.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ROUNDS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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